Love on the Run
by Splendidguy44
Summary: Toothless should be happy. He helped defeat the Bewilderbeast and became the alpha of the dragons of Berk. He had everything he ever wanted. Almost everything, that is. He longs for something he thought he would never have: love. That is, until he crosses paths with a certain dragon that will change his life and the lives of his friends forever. Be careful what you wish for.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I'm back! Before I get to my next story about the Tournament, I'd thought it would be a great idea to write a story about Toothless since my previous stories involved my characters. I figured that Toothless should get the spotlight in this one. Anyways, enjoy!**

It was a cool day in Berk. The sun was high in the sky and dragon and viking alike were working hard to prepare for the upcoming winter. Whenever a cool breeze swept the town of Berk, it would send a shiver up the residents' spines, motivating them to work faster.

After the incident with Drago, most of the dragons from the Bewilderbeast's nest and the ones from Drago's army all moved to Berk as they had nowhere else to go. That meant the residents had to work twice as much to get wood and fish. Luckily for them, he called upon his allies from Draconia to help him and his village.

9 years ago, when Hiccup and Toothless killed the Red Death, as in any other battles, people were hurt, dragons and Vikings alike. Gothi alone couldn't handle all of the injuries by herself, especially the dragon ones, as she knew nothing of dragon anatomy. In response to that, a dragon healer known as Serenity, was dispatched from the land of Draconia, to help heal the wounded dragons on Berk. But even after all the dragons were hurt, she stayed there on Berk as Stoick offered her the position of dragon healer on Berk. As time passed, and problems grew (Outcasts, Berserkers, Screaming Death, etc.) the rulers of Draconia went to Berk to establish an alliance to help each other out in need.

Now, Draconia is a beautiful land. It is the homeland to all the dragons that roam this Earth. On that land mass is a castle,carved out of a castle-shaped mountain. It started out as a series of deep caves. As Draconia developed the caves became rooms made of marble, gold, and cement. The biggest room in the castle is the great hall. The castle is 1,000 ft high and has over 300 rooms. On one side of the castle is the capital city, Bluegreen, on the other side is a vast cove known as Castle Cove with its own small harbor, known as Royal Town. Castle Cove is sealed by a 2 mile long wall. The golden castle gates are in the very center of the wall. The king and queen of Draconia are Re and Aurora respectively. Tenor is the prime minister of Draconia (Every kingdom needs a government,yeesh). They also established a home on Dragon Island, turning it into another castle. They use that castle during the summer so that they could get away from the homeland and be near Berk in case something happened. They return to Draconia during the winter.

Those three dragons are a bit different than the dragons from Berk. They had long, thick necks, long tails, large wings, and one pair of horns on the back of their narrow heads. Re, a green dragon and Aurora, a blue dragon, had the bodies and legs of large wolves; Tenor the black dragon, had the body and legs of a panther. Re and Aurora were the size of Clydesdale Horses while Tenor was the size of an Arabian Horse. They each wore armor in the color and design of their choice, with their own personal crest on their head plates: Re's was a green dragon with his wings open and held a golden apple in one talon and a golden music note in the other, it was surrounded by a blue circle; that crest was the crest of the country he ruled over. Aurora's crest was a huge snowflake made out of sapphire and turquoise stones that matched her scales. Tenor's crest was a silver crescent moon surrounded by silver stars.

Re and Aurora were Whippertails, meaning the last third of their tails had no bone, just solid muscle. They could be used to grab stuff and are thin enough to be used as whips. Aurora was the daughter of the Dragon God, Draco. With that being said, she was born with magic and can do countless things with it,except raise the dead and create life like her father could , on the other hand, was the most unusual dragon. Part of him was a Blackfang, meaning his teeth were pitch black and so venomous, they could kill anything in an instant. In addition to that, he had the skin, eyes, wings, tail, sonar flaps (instead of horns), and spines of a Night Fury. Tenor had been abandoned as an egg, and grew up with Re and Aurora, who were quite positive that he was the only Night Fury hybrid in existence.

Serenity is a young woman who was kicked out of her family at the age of 5 for being friends with a red dragon named Ruby. Ruby then decided to bring her to Draconia where he thought she would be safe. The dragons took her in, and did something that has never been attempted with any other human being ever. They turned her into the first human dragon in history. She is a dragon rider and dragon healer. She travels the world to learn about the dragons outside of Draconia, before Re called her in and asked her to come back home. She helps out any dragon who is sick or injured, so she is well-known amongst the dragons. She lives in the castle with the royal dragons.

But one fateful night changed their lives. One day, Berk was raided by a group of dragons, led by a Night Fury-a female Night Fury named Windwalker-when Hiccup and his friends found a map in an abandoned ship. The dragons easily stole the map back, but as the raid concluded, the Berkians found out that the female Night Fury had a rider, who coordinated the raid. His name was Chris, and he turned out to be the long-lost adopted son of Re and Aurora-who found him as a baby, unharmed, in a burnt down village where they then raised him as one of their own-when Hiccup and his Draconian allies tracked him down. From there on, they realized that Chris had to raid Berk because he and his nest were in a war. And that the map they found was a key component that could've changed the tide in the war Chris's nest was fighting-the dragon-Song war. With help from the Berkians and Draconians, they were able to win the war, and stop the onslaught of dragons.

Chris was a tall, young man. Maybe a year or 2 older than Hiccup was. He had short black hair, big ears, tan skin, and had a strong, yet lean body frame much like Hiccup's. He wore black pants with black boots that had thick fur lining the top of his footwear. Accompanying his waist was two twin swords strapped to his left side. On his torso, was a dark colored shirt, which was covered by a slim winter trench coat with thick fur accompanying the ends of the sleeves. Windwalker, his dragon companion, was a female Night Fury with honey-golden eyes. Across her right flank were 4 scratch-like scars.

In the aftermath of it all, Serenity and Chris got married and had a beautiful little daughter named Edelweiss, Re and Aurora had 2 hatchlings: Apollo and Avalon, and Tenor and Windwalker became mates and had a daughter named Black Widow. Avalon and Apollo were the son and daughter of Re and Aurora, and siblings to Chris. Princess Avalon was teal green with purple horns and lavender eyes. She wore purple armor with a big green maple leaf insignia on her head plate/crown. Her brother Apollo was blood red with golden horns, spines, and eyes. He wore dark red armor with a gold insignia of a dolphin jumping over a lyre, surrounded by a wreath on his head plate/crown. Like their mother, they also had the gift of magic and were slowly mastering it. The youngest of the dragons was Black Widow, the hatchling of Tenor and Windwalker. She, like her father, was half-Blackfang and half-Night Fury. She had the scales, sonar flaps, wings, fins, eyes, spines, and body of a Night Fury, and the long wolf-like legs, long neck, narrow head, and black teeth of a Blackfang. She had red eyes and a red hourglass shape on her forehead. She wore black armor with the same red hourglass insignia on her head plate/crown.

Many things have happened since the dragon-Song war. Windwalker got promoted to Captain of the Guard, they battled a deranged dragon named Hael, almost witnessed Serenity dying, and now Chris and Hiccup have been chosen by the sun god Sól to participate in a deadly game. Out of all the events in their lives, this particular one is the most dramatic. Especially for Toothless.

The royal dragons, alongside the dragons of Berk, teamed up to help the fisherman bring in extra hauls. While they did that, the viking gang was chopping down wood. Serenity and Valka were with the other wives of Berk, making extra clothes. Hiccup and Chris were with their dragons, finishing the construction of a longhouse with a team of vikings.

"Alright, on 3 we'll slowly place the roof onto the house", Hiccup commanded as he mounted Toothless. Both Windwalker and himself had harnesses strapped around their saddles to help them lift the roof.

"Okay, you ready Windwalker?", Chris asked his dragon companion. Windwalker nodded, crouching down, getting ready to take off.

"Now", Hiccup shouted.

Both Night Furies sprang into the air, flapping almost simultaneously to keep the roof level. They had to flap twice as much since the roof was heavy.

"Now slowly move to your left Windwalker", Hiccup asserted as he gesticulated her to move in the right direction.

Windwalker snorted as she steadily floated over the house.

"Good. Now lower it."

Windwalker and Toothless worked in tandem, steadily lowering the roof until it was firmly settled on top of the house.

"Great. Now, finish up", Hiccup ordered as he pointed to the group of vikings watching nearby.

Both Night Furies landed next to the house. Their riders then moved to remove the harnesses attached to their dragons.

"We did it", Hiccup panted as he dismounted his dragon, wiping the sweat off of his brow.

_"Why are you sweating? Windwalker and I did all the work?", _Toothless huffed.

"_Yeah, without us, it would've taken you hours just to finish the roof", _Windwalker agreed.

"Well, without our guidance you guys wouldn't even know how to put the roof on", Chris smirked.

Windwalker sighed in defeat, rolling her eyes.

Just then, the rest of the dragons landed near them and approached them.

_"Well Hiccup, you now have more than enough fish to feed your village", _Re voiced as he folded his wings in.

"Thank you Re. I appreciate the help", Hiccup replied.

_"Oh it's no trouble. Even if we weren't allies, I'm sure we would've still helped."_

At that moment, Serenity and Valka came up the hill. Chris smiled and took her hand in his.

"How are you my love?", Chris asked.

"Oh I'm fine. The other wives and I just finished making clothes. By the way Hiccup, not to brag or anything, but you have enough clothes to even keep the dragons warm!", Serenity exclaimed.

"I hope so", Hiccup chuckled.

_"Well if there isn't anything else, we'll be headed off", _Re announced.

"Already?!", Valka gasped.

_"Yes ma'am. As much as we like it here, we have to check on kids and make sure they don't cause too much trouble. But if you need us, I suggest you tell us within 2 days because we plan to head back to Draconia at the end of those 2 days", _Aurora explained.

"Alright. Again, thank you Re for helping us."

_"Anytime",_ Re smiled.

Chris and Serenity mounted their respective dragons before taking off with the rest of the Draconians.

Valka and the dragons left to their dwellings, leaving Toothless and Hiccup by themselves.

At that moment, Astrid approached them with Hegan in her arms.

"And how are you my lady?", Hiccup smiled, embracing his wife and child.

"Nothing much. Just dealing with our son is all", Astrid responded.

"And here we thought being a Viking was tough", Hiccup said.

"Eh, you were never much of a Viking anyways", Astrid teased.

"Haha, very funny", Hiccup answered, the sarcasm heavy in his voice

Astrid laughed before looking at Hiccup in the eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you too Astrid", Hiccup stated before pecking her on the lips.

"Now let's go home. I'm tired after a day of being chief."

Astrid stepped back and punched Hiccup in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?!", Hiccup groaned as he rubbed his arm.

"That's for complaining", Astrid said before giving him another kiss,"and this for everything else."

Hegan started giggling uncontrollably.

"Oh great. He likes seeing his daddy get hurt", Hiccup asserted.

"At least now I know what to do whenever he's upset", Astrid smiled.

Hiccup smiled as he wrapped an arm around his family and escorted them back to their house.

Toothless watched them intently as they departed, heavy thoughts on his mind.

He sighed. Toothless then trotted over to the cliff near the Haddock residence and sat on his haunches, looking out over the ocean. The sun was setting, sending out rays of gold and orange across the sky.

Toothless gazed out past the horizon, before turning away from it. He headed into the Haddock house when the darkness of night swept the skies. He looked up at the stars for a bit before entering the house. He went into his room and plopped down on the slab of rock. His room was reasonably spacious and had a wide doorway to accommodate him; it was right across from Stormfly's pen, who was soundly asleep. In fact, he was the only one awake.

Toothless was the alpha of all the dragons of Berk, and constantly defeated any force foolish enough to mess with the island he called home. He had an intelligent human for a best friend, who not only saved his life multiple times, but also taught him that not all humans are bad. For that, he considered that man his brother. He would gladly die for him. He should've been happy. He had everything he ever could want. Almost everything he could want.

He felt like a burden. Sure, he was apart of Hiccup's family, but he didn't feel like it. Hiccup had a wife and a child. Alas, Toothless didn't have that.

_"If only I had someone to share this with", _Toothless whispered to himself.

He hated to think this way, but his dream of having a family flew out the door when Windwalker and Tenor became mates. Sure Windwalker and him got off to a rocky start, but he figured they would grow from there. But even then, she didn't seem interested after all was said and done.

Maybe it was because Tenor was a royal dragon and that he was prime minister of the dragons' homeland. Maybe alpha wasn't enough.

Toothless growled in disapproval.

_"No no. I shouldn't think like that. I should be happy for them", _Toothless mumbled.

Toothless sighed in defeat.

He closed his eyes and prayed to Draco.

_"Dear Draco, please let me find a mate. I just want to have love in my life. That's all I ask. Please Draco, help me out."_

Even if he did pray, he figured that a god like Draco didn't have time to meddle in the lives of mortal dragons. Draco was probably busy doing something like running the heavens and here Toothless was asking him to do a favor.

Toothless slumped his head to the ground.

_"Maybe I'm suppose to be lonely."_

Little did the he knew that a series of dramatic events would unfold that would change his life for better, or for worse.


	2. Chapter 2

The Dragon Island castle was beautiful...and vacant. No dragon was in the castle. Although, the only ones who were there were the dragon younglings, as well as Edelweiss. They were currently playing at the tide pools near the beach of the island. The adults realized that their children weren't as young as they used to be, and felt they deserved a little more freedom now that they were older.

Even if they were slightly reckless, they were responsible enough to not get into too much trouble, irony aside. So Chris and Serenity, as well as the royal dragons trusted them to babysit Edelweiss. Even then, they weren't really babysitting her. Her parents didn't want her to be bored by herself. So they decided that it would be a wonderful opportunity to let her play with her dragon friends while they were away, because they knew the dragon younglings would protect her fiercely while entertaining her; they would kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

However, while the kids were out playing, they didn't see a shadow slip into the castle unnoticed.

The shadow silently landed next to the front door, obscured by the shadow of the building. Looking all around to check if it was noticed, the shadow then sprinted to the front doors, quickly entered, and shut the door quietly.

Once inside, the intruder exhaled the breath it had been holding. The intruder staked out the castle from the cover of the surrounding trees and waited a good while, after the royal dragons left, to make its move.

However, this intruder was no ordinary burglar. The intruder was a Night Fury; A female Night Fury. She was much like Windwalker in size and shape, except for her eyes. In fact, her eyes distinguished her among any other dragon. She had different colored eyes-her left eye was blue while the right eye was green.

She was awed at the sheer size of the entrance hall, taking in the vastness of it. But then she remembered why she came here for and focused on the task at hand. She quickly stayed in the darkness of the shadows and traveled throughout the castle, searching for something.

After about an hour of wandering the castle and admiring the beautiful, and probably valuable, artifacts, she entered a cave. Once she did that, her eyes widened and settled on her prize.

_"Hmm. I think they will like this", _the Night Fury thought.

The prize in question fit the qualities she was tasked to find: it was small, shiny, and would probably go unnoticed. It was a black crown, shaped like a wreath, with a silver hurricane shape on the forehead piece. It was resting besides a suit of black, shiny armor.

She thought about taking the armor but someone would probably notice it was missing. So, she decided that she would take something of value that was small enough that it could be misplaced. Ergo, the crown was the perfect match.

Carefully, she retracted her teeth and picked up the crown with her jaws. She then snuck her way out of the castle before the sun started to set.

She flew high above the clouds as to avoid being seen by others. She knew she had to go to a nearby island quickly and bury the crown if she wanted her plan to work.

_"But would it work?", _the Night Fury thought to herself.

Considering all that she has done, the last thing she wanted to do was steal from the king and queen. But considering that she just stole something of value to them, she was desperate.

_"Maybe they'll understand. They have to understand", _she told herself.

After about 2 hours of flying, when the moon was shining in the sky, she finally found an island. It was densely packed with trees and had a mountain or 2 but either than that, she couldn't describe more of it.

As she flew low over the trees, she spotted something that took her off-guard; it was a beautiful cove that was in the ground, that was enclosed by steep walls. It was wide and had a massive pond in the middle of it, with the surrounding land forming a crescent-type shape around the water, as well as a waterfall the supplied the pond with water. It had some boulders here and there, and the roots of some of the trees near the top of the cove zig-zagged downward toward the bottom of the cove. All in all, it was beautiful, and she decided this would be the perfect place to bury her treasure.

She gazed back and forth until she found the perfect spot. She trotted over to a large boulder and peered behind it. The spot was literally between a rock and a hard place, technically. The boulder was adjacent to the roots of an overhead tree, obscuring the spot from plain sight; It was perfect!

She dug into the ground, clawing at the dirt until a deep enough hole was created. She dropped the crown into the hole and hastily covered it up with the upturned dirt. After looking around once more she took a deep breath, going over her plan in her head.

"_Okay, okay. They are going to come in about 3 days. Then, I will somehow lead the king and queen to them, and they will be captured!"_, she thought optimistically.

Her train of thought was interrupted when her stomach grumbled loudly. She was slightly startled by her hunger.

"_Oh. I guess I'll get some fish then"_, she decided, "_Let's see if there are any deer on this island!"_.

And with her new plan in mind, she flew out of the cove and flew above the tree tops, trying to find game. However, what surprised her was that on this island was a village. She quickly ducked down into the canopy of the trees. Clinging to a tree, she surveyed the village in front of her.

"_Hmm, a human village"_, she noticed. After realizing that its entire populace was asleep, she turned away until she spotted something delectable. Her mouth watered when she saw a big bowl of fish settled on top of a wooden pillar.

"_Who needs to waste time trying to find food on land or in the sea when it is laying out for grabs?", _she told herself rhetorically.

She made her way to the tray when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She was on alert and hid beside a building, the darkness camouflaging her perfectly. Her frame tightened when she saw another dragon extending its wings.

No. She was caught! At least that was what she thought until the dragon settled back down and resumed its heavy breathing.

_"What is a sleeping dragon doing in the middle of a human village? Doesn't it know that humans are-", _she halted her sentence when she realized that that wasn't the only dragon sleeping nearby.

Her eyes widened to dinner plates when she realized that dragons of all forms were surrounding her, sleeping on, or near the houses.

_"What in the world?"_

Many things were going through her mind at this point. The dragons weren't flying away from the humans, and the humans weren't killing the dragons.

_"What is with this village?!", _she said to herself.

However, her discovery didn't stop her stomach from gurgling.

_"Uh, most of them are asleep. And I'm a Night Fury", _she thought to herself before crouching down. With a silent, but strong flap of her wings, she was airborne and zooming toward the fish tray. As she flew over the tray, she grabbed as many fish as she could with her talons and glided down the rest of the way, to avoid making noise.

She landed softly on top of a hill, failing to awake any of the dozing dragons. And with that, she hungrily devoured the fish.

Toothless woke up to some noise outside.

Well, it's not like he was sleeping well, with everything on his mind.

As Toothless tunes into the sound, it sounded like someone was eating.

_"No dragon is up this late", _Toothless said.

He got up and left his room. He then walked to a nearby window and poked his head out the window and looked to the thing causing the noise.

His eyes widened when he saw what it was that woke him up. It was a dragon, and even though it was dark out and hard to distinguish what dragon it was, he could've sworn it looked like a...a Night Fury.

_"Another Night Fury"_, Toothless whispered to himself. However, before he could do anything else, it flew away, obviously done with its meal.

_"Wait!", _he whispered loudly. She didn't hear him as she continued to fly away.

He panicked, _"What was he doing here?"_

Toothless pulled his head in and quickly rushed to the front door. He tried his best to pull it open but it was quite difficult considering he had no opposable thumbs. After a brief moment, he was able to hook the handle in his jaw and awkwardly opened up the door. After it was open enough, he dashed out and sprinted towards the tree line where he last saw him.

He ran through the woods looking from left to right, searching for the Night Fury. He sniffed the air, but got nothing.

_"Where could he be?", _Toothless wondered.

He dashed forward again, looking all around him for the Night Fury. Why he was so eager to met him? Toothless didn't know. Maybe it was just because he hadn't seen another Night Fury in such a long time. The only other Night Furies were Tenor and Windwalker, and Tenor was only half of one. It would've been nice to know why a Night Fury had decided to land on his island.

However, as he was running, he didn't notice the Night Fury in question running perpendicular to him. She too was running, trying to find the source of the peculiar noise she heard.

It all happened so fast. One moment they were running then the next thing they knew, they both collided with something heavy. They had both run into each other at top speed and their impact sent each other tumbling in opposite direction.

_"Uhh, what in the world-?", _she said, dazed and confused.

_"Oooohhh", _Toothless grumbled, suppressing the pain.

They both wondered what made them crash, and they both froze when they looked up and made eye contact with each other.

They stiffened. They either thought it was a boulder or a tree, but they never expected it was a dragon that collided with him/her, especially a Night Fury.

Toothless' eyes widened when he gazed into the different colored eyes of the female. He had never seen alluring eyes such as those before. His eyes opened further when he realized the dragon was a female Night Fury. To him, she looked graceful and sly.

The female on the other hand was taken aback. She had never seen another male Night Fury before, besides her father and brother. To her, he looked strong and slightly intimidating.

_"If he catches me, I'm dead. If I plan this carefully, I can outfly him. But, he looks like a dragon you don't wanna mess with", _she thought.

_"What was she doing here? And what was she running from?", _Toothless pondered.

Neither made a move, suspicious of what the other was going to do. They both didn't know it, but their chance meeting just set into motion a series of events that would change their lives forever.


	3. Chapter 3

After staring at each other for a bit, Toothless was the first to make a move.

_"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"_, Toothless asked.

The female Night Fury shifted on her paws a bit and focused her eyes on Toothless.

_"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know this island was your territory", _she replied.

_"Well, I don't own this land, but I do guard the people who live on it, dragons and vikings alike."_

_"So it is true", _she said under her breath.

_"What is true?", _Toothless pressed.

_"Oh, um, nothing really. I mean, when I flew over this island, I thought I saw dragons sleeping in a human village. But now that I know my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. I can now say that is by far the most insane thing dragons have ever done. But why? Why are you all settled in a human village? Did you guys conquer them and made them your slaves?",_ she wondered.

_"No, that's far from it", _Toothless responded.

_"Then what in the name of Draco is going on here?!", _the Night Fury exclaimed.

_"I am not answering any more questions. As far as I am concerned, you are an intruder. I saw you near my village and I have yet to know if you are a threat or not", _Toothless growled. He had no intention of hurting her, but he had it in his mind that he didn't want to portray that he was weak to her.

_"But I'm not a threat..."_

_"Then would you care to explain why you were in my village?", _Toothless asked, sitting down on his haunches.

The Night Fury sighed, seeing as how she was caught and had no other choice but to explain things to him. Although, she was smart enough not to let him know everything.

_"I...got lost, kind of. My family and I were flying when out of nowhere, we flew right into a storm. From there, I got separated and woke up later, washed up on a nearby island. I tried finding them, but I couldn't. So I figured if I waited long enough, they would come and find me, seeing as how my father and brother have better senses of smell then I do. Then as I looked for a place to sleep, I got hungry. So after finding suitable shelter, I looked for some deer and stumbled upon this village. And low and behold, there was a big bowl of fish suspended above the ground in this village. So I figured why should I go out and waste energy in finding a meal when there was free fish up for grabs? Then I found out there were dragons in this village and my jaw dropped."_

_"Is that it?", _Toothless pondered.

_"No. So after recovering from my shock. I took some fish, ate them, and went back to my shelter. However, as I was returning, I heard a noise. It kind of sounded like a cry. So I ran, trying to find the source of the cry and I ended up crashing into you. I guess I was so focused that I didn't pay attention to my surroundings", _she explained.

_"Okay. At least that explains why I saw you in my village and colliding with you", _Toothless voiced.

_"So what about you? Why do you and the other dragons live in a human village?", _she asked as she sat down across from Toothless.

_"I'm not done. You still haven't told me who you are", _Toothless asserted.

_"Well you haven't either!"_

_"Well that's true. Although I asked you first", _Toothless retorted.

The Night Fury sighed in defeat, knowing the male Night Fury was right.

_"My name is Raeya"_, Raeya said.

_"Raeya...interesting name. Just as interesting as your eyes", _Toothless admitted. Just as he said that, Toothless shut his mouth shut. He blushed; he didn't mean to say that last part.

Raeya looked up at him and quickly turned away.

_"Oh, my eyes aren't interesting. They're horrible", _Raeya admitted.

_"How are they horrible?", _Toothless asked.

_"Ever since I was hatched, I was treated differently because of them. The other dragons didn't want to play with me, saying I was a freak or something like that. It wasn't bad enough that I was covered in black scales. Even my family treated me differently, but they grew to accept it as something that would never change. But because of my eyes, my family and I were forced to travel from place to place, since no other dragon wanted to be near me. They still love me, so I guess everything's alright", _Raeya explained.

_"Well, I don't think they are horrible", _Toothless confessed.

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah. I mean, I think they make you unique", _Toothless said.

Raeya blushed under her scales. _"No one has ever said that before. I don't see how you can see these eyes as a positive thing. They've been a burden my whole life."_

_"Trust me, you don't know what burden means until you only have half a tail", _Toothless chuckled as he swung his tail for her to see and fanned it.

Raeya's jaw dropped in shock.

_"Oh my gosh. What happened to you?", _Raeya gasped.

_"That, is a long story", _Toothless sighed.

_"Well, we are nocturnal creatures. We both got time, I'm sure of it", _Raeya countered.

_"You really want to hear my story?", _Toothless asked.

_"It's the least you can do after I explained myself_", Raeya replied.

Toothless chuckled, _"Very well"._

Toothless soon began his tale, telling Raeya about being under the Red Death to meeting and forming a bond with Hiccup. Then, he went on to explain how they changed the world of vikings and dragons forever, and how they and the Draconians became involved in their life. Next he told her about the confrontation with Drago and the Bewilderbeast, and how he then unlocked his Titan Wing and became alpha of Berk. She was fascinated as he told his story, especially when he told her of how they met Chris and Windwalker. She was even more wondered when he told her of the encounter with Hael and how Chris and Hiccup were chosen to participate in the Tournament of the Gods. When he finished, Raeya could do nothing but stare at him with eyes wide and mouth agape.

_"So you're telling me...your name is Toothless? That's such a weird name", _Raeya commented.

_"So after all that, you want to know why I'm called 'Toothless'?", _Toothless frowned.

_"No no no. I was just joking. But anyways, you have a very...interesting life", _Raeya said thoughtfully.

_"At least it isn't boring", _Toothless answered.

Raeya sighed and looked around before her eyes finally settled on Toothless.

_"Still, isn't it kind of...limiting? Integrating your life with humans?", _Raeya questioned.

_"What do you mean?", _Toothless asked, puzzled.

_"Well don't they slow you down? I mean, it's like taking care of a hatchling basically. Not only that, but they can't fly. They can't really do anything dragons can do. The whole race has done nothing but hurt the very ground we stand on. All they are responsible for is the very destruction of nature. They kill what they don't understand, and don't bother trying to understand why they don't understand it", _Raeya explained.

_"While everything you said is basically true, not all humans are like that. You just have to met the right humans. Like when I met Hiccup, instead of killing me, he spared me. And then he freed me. A human sparing a dragon. That's unheard of. So I decided that since he did that, I wouldn't hurt him either. His father was something else but after awhile, he came along. There will always be good and bad humans, just like there are good and bad dragons. You also have to consider that we don't know each other's languages. That mainly contributes to most of our quarrels", _Toothless responded.

_"And what about me? If it wasn't for Hiccup, I probably would've died. If it wasn't for Serenity, most of the dragons I know would've died from their injuries. If it wasn't for Chris, dragons in the eastern region would've been dead from the reign of the Song. Am I suppose to be ungrateful for all that they have done for dragonkind?", _Toothless continued.

Raeya looked down in thought. _"I'm sorry, I completely forgot about their contributions. I didn't mean to be insensitive."_

_"I don't blame you though. Like you said, most humans are like that. But trust me when I say this, having a human for a best friend is worth it. I wouldn't take it back, meeting Hiccup, for anything in this world. And you can ask any other dragon who has a rider", _Toothless smiled.

_"You are a very interesting and wise dragon, Toothless. You definitely aren't the dragon I assumed you to be", _Raeya grinned.

_"And what did you assume me to be Raeya?", _Toothless asked, his eyes slightly narrowing.

_"Based off of your looks, I thought you were...arrogant", _Raeya smirked.

Toothless frowned immediately. _"I am not arrogant!"_

_"I know you aren't. Calm down!", _Raeya laughed.

Toothless grumbled and rolled his eyes.

_"Anyways, what did you think of me when you first saw me?", _Raeya inquired.

_"Me?"_, Toothless asked. He looked down at the grass as he thought. He initially thought she was beautiful when he first saw her, but he quickly pushed that thought aside.

"It's not like she is going to stay anyways", Toothless thought to himself. He then decided that he wouldn't tell the whole truth.

_"Well when I first saw you, I thought: out of all the dragons to be trespassing in my village, it had to be a Night Fury", _Toothless answered truthfully.

_"Oh, I'm still a trespasser now?", _Raeya smirked.

_"By all means, you still are. And you will be my prisoner until I see otherwise", _Toothless smirked back, the sarcasm heavy in his voice.

_"Oh no! I'm scared!", _Raeya shivered, feigning fear.

_"You should be. I'm the alpha of Berk!", _Toothless asserted dignantly, puffing out his chest dramatically.

_"You don't seem like much of an alpha to me", _Raeya shot back, getting into a playful crouch.

Toothless' eyes narrowed. In a blink of an eye, Toothless was chasing Raeya all throughout the forest. However, since he couldn't fly, Raeya was able to out-maneuver him.

_"Give it up Toothless. You won't win!", _Raeya shouted with glee.

She yelped when out of nowhere, Toothless pounced on her from atop a tree branch. They tumbled around a bit before Toothless eventually pinned her down.

_"Sorry Raeya. I know these woods better than you do", _Toothless taunted triumphantly.

Suddenly Raeya began whimpering in pain. Toothless looked down in worry as Raeya scrunched up her face.

_"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you!", _Toothless apologized, stepping off of her.

Now it was Toothless' turn to yelp when Raeya sprang up and tackled Toothless, pinning him to the ground.

Toothless huffed in confusion as Raeya stood before him, with a grin on her face.

_"What the-? That's not fair! You pretended to be hurt!", _Toothless whined.

_"It wasn't fair when you told me you knew these woods better than I did. It's not my fault I got even", _Raeya chortled.

Toothless whined and slumped his head down in defeat. Raeya grinned as her amusement went down. She became embarrassed and blushed as she realized how close she was to Toothless. She backed up and got off of him quickly, causing Toothless to roll over and quirk his head in her direction.

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Oh. It just seems we lost track of time, is all. I mean, look, it's sunrise already", _Raeya pointed out.

Toothless looked towards the sea and his eyes widened when he realized that she was right.

_"Well, it looks like I have to get back to Berk", _Toothless said, a little disappointed.

_"Yeah, I guess I will just wait around for my family or try finding them on my own", _Raeya exhaled.

_"Leaving so soon, already?", _Toothless asked, a little too desperately.

_"What? Oh no. I wouldn't do that Toothless. I won't just leave. If I do choose to find them, I would come back and say goodbye", _Raeya answered, trying not to upset Toothless.

_"Well if you choose to wait here, you could come with me and I can introduce you to all my friends", _Toothless responded, hopeful.

_"Oh, I don't know about that. What if they don't like me? I mean you are the first dragon to not think of me as a freak", _Raeya negated.

_"Trust me, they will love you", _Toothless beamed.

Raeya looked out towards the sky, then back to Toothless.

_"Alright."_

_"Great! Let's go!", _Toothless declared, turning towards the direction of Berk.

Raeya hesitated for a moment, before sighing and following Toothless to the village. She was nervous to say the least. The main thing on her mind was that her plan would still work despite all of this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, sorry for not publishing in like 2 weeks. I was busy with work and such. But I plan to update more frequently. Anyways, enjoy!**

The Night Furies trotted to the village slowly but surely. It was quiet as they entered the village. However that soon changed when the dragons and vikings who were already up and early saw the sight of not one, but two Night Furies.

They gasped and murmured amongst themselves as they sauntered to a nearby fish tray. Raeya gulped nervously, already feeling more alienated than she already was. Luckily, her initial appearance was so great that it masked the fact that she had different colored eyes, making Raeya feel more at ease than when other people met her.

_"It's okay. Don't worry about them. As long as you are with me nothing will happen to you", _Toothless reassured.

Raeya turned to him and nodded.

_"Well, why did we come here?", _Raeya asked.

_"Usually my friends eat first before they meet up with me or the rest of the riders", _Toothless replied.

_"So there are other dragons who let humans ride them?", _Raeya gasped. This could seriously jeopardize her plan.

_"Like I said Raeya, once you bond with a human it will change your life", _Toothless grinned_._

At that moment, the rest of the dragons came up toward the fish tray.

Meatlug, Stormfly, Hookfang, and Barf &amp; Belch were walking and chatting like they usually do every morning. However that soon halted when Meatlug spotted Toothless with another dragon-a Night Fury!

_"Guys, look!", _Meatlug exclaimed, catching the attention of her fellow dragons. The others were confused until they gazed in the direction of the fish tray. Their eyes widened at seeing the new Night Fury.

Raeya grew tensed as they ran towards her and Toothless a little too quickly. They halted when they were in a circle with them; all eyes were on the Night Furies

It seemed like they wanted to ask who she was but as she expected, they were all captivated by her eyes.

Stormfly broke out of her gaze first and offered a smile. _"Hello, my name is Stormfly. And as you can see, I am obviously a Deadly Nadder"._

_"Oh. Well, hello Stormfly", _Raeya stammered, trying to focus between her and the other 3 dragons who were staring at her. Quite frankly, she wasn't accustomed to the attention.

Stormfly caught on and quickly shoved Hookfang who in turn shoved the others, breaking them out of their stupor.

_"Come one guys, quit staring. I'm sure it's uncomfortable enough being in a strange place without having a bunch of dragons gawking at her", _Stormfly chided.

_"Well I can't help it if her eyes are so fascinating!", _Hookfang retorted, _"Hi, my name is Hookfang."_

_"My name is Meatlug and the Zippleback next to me is Barf and Belch", _Meatlug introduced.

They all smiled warmly towards the new arrival.

_"Oh, well nice to you all. My name is Raeya", _Raeya smiled back.

_"Raeya, what an interesting name. Almost as interesting as your eyes. I have to say, we have never met a dragon like you before", _Hookfang commented, while the others nodded in agreement.

_"Looks like you aren't the only one to tell me that", _Raeya said, turning towards Toothless. The male Night Fury shrugged, not understand what Raeya was trying to hint at.

_"Since Toothless looks like he willing to share why you are here, would you mind telling the rest of us. We are all curious as to why you are here", _Stormfly voiced, with the rest nodding.

_"I would've introduced you all to her but you guys seemed more interested in her eyes than her herself", _Toothless retorted, his eyes narrowing slightly.

_"Can we do this somewhere else? I don't want the whole village staring at me when the rest wake up", _Raeya asked timidly.

_"How about we go to the training ring. Hardly anyone goes there besides our riders", _Toothless suggested.

With no other place in mind, the group traveled through the village until they came to the opened gate of the training ring.

Once they settled in a ring, Raeya began retelling why she was there on that island. They were all fascinated with her story and asked questions periodically.

Raeya blushed, unused to the attention and compliments she was getting. No other dragon wanted to be near her, yet these dragons were fine with her eyes. She was treated differently, but in a good way. Instead of getting a lack of attention from others, she was the center of attention. And she liked it.

Her contentment was interrupted when all of the dragons looked up in one direction.

_"It seems like our riders need us", _Barf realized.

_"What could they all want at this time of day? We usually don't get called until midday", _Belch added.

_"Guys, it is midday", _Toothless replied, gesturing toward the sky.

All the dragons' eyes bulged out as they looked upwards and were baffled when they realized they had been talking for hours.

_"Well I guess we better go then", _Meatlug said.

They all then trotted back to the village and found their riders near the chief's riders all stopped their chit-chat when the dragons came up the hill.

"Woah, is that another Night Fury?!", Fishlegs exclaimed, barely containing his excitement.

"Oh Thor it is another Night Fury!", Astrid gasped.

"That's awesome!", Tuffnut shouted.

"Let's ride it!", his twin offered.

Pretty soon Fishlegs, the twins, and Snotlout all ran towards Raeya. The Night Fury got in a defensive stance and snarled. Thinking they were gonna attack her, she fired a plasma blast at their feet, sending them ducking for cover.

"I think it's safe to say it doesn't want to be ridden", Hiccup commented, approaching Raeya.

Raeya took notice of the scrawny human slowly approaching her. She resumed her defensive posture and growled lowly.

"Woah, it's eyes", Hiccup commented to no one in particular.

_"It is okay Raeya, this is Hiccup", _Toothless said.

Raeya looked back at Toothless before she gazed back at the human who was now closer, splaying his hands to show he had no weapons on him.

"Hi there, I'm not going to hurt you", Hiccup smiled, stretching out his hand.

Raeya backed up a little, not sure of what he was going to do.

"Don't worry, you can trust me", Hiccup smiled again.

Raeya looked into Hiccup's eyes and saw no malice behind them. With no other suspicions left, she moved forward until her nose made contact with his open palm.

"There we go. That's a good boy", Hiccup grinned.

A snort from Raeya and and a growl from Toothless made Hiccup realize his mistake.

"Oh, oh! My bad. You're a girl. My fault for not noticing. But I guess that would explain your pretty eyes."

Raeya blushed, still unaccustomed to having her eyes complimented.

"Well Toothless, who's your friend here?", Hiccup asked, looking towards his best friend.

_"Her name is Raeya", _Toothless said. However, all that Hiccup could hear was warbles and grunts.

"Sometimes I wish I could speak Dragonese", Hiccup sighed.

"Well it looks like you'll kinda get your wish", Astrid said as she patted Hiccup and gestured toward the sky. The chief looked up and was greeted to the sight of the Draconians flying toward them.

"Well, I wonder what brings them here", Hiccup said thoughtfully.

The Draconians soon touched down and Chris and Serenity dismounted. Their daughter, Edelweiss, was big enough to ride a dragon, so after numerous practices they felt confident to let her ride by herself atop of Black Widow. She also dismounted.

_"Well this is sight to behold", _Re asserted, looking at Raeya.

The dragons of Berk immediately bowed down and spread their wings. Raeya shortly followed suit. The Draconians were all wearing their armor and their crowns, minus Windwalker, who was not wearing her crown.

_"Good morning my king, it's nice to see you and your family here", _Toothless said.

"Good morning Re. What brings you here?", Hiccup asked.

_"Before we get to that, I believe introductions are required, seeing as how there is a guest among us", _Re declared. Raeya looked up in the direction of the Draconians, obviously knowing that Re was speaking about her.

_"My name is Re, and I am the King of Draconia", _Re announced.

_"My name is Aurora, I am his mate and Queen of Draconia",_ Aurora said in her mother-like tone.

Next, Windwalker and Tenor walked up.

_"Hello, my name is Tenor and I'm Prime Minister of Draconia", _Tenor asserted.

_"And I'm Windwalker. I'm Captain of the Guard of Draconia", _Windwalker stated.

_"Well, it's nice to finally meet the king and queen of Draconia. It seems like the homeland does exist after all", _Raeya said.

_"Ah, that's our fault. We haven't really been making it known that Draconia does exist", _Re said sheepishly.

_"Well, to be fair it had been rather hard to come up with a solution to that problem", _Tenor commented.

_"Um, if you don't mind me asking, 'what are you?'. Are you a...Night Fury?", _Raeya asked.

_"Close, I'm half-Night Fury and half-Blackfang", _Tenor grinned.

_"Well it's good to know I'm not the only Night Fury who's different", _Raeya smiled.

_"There's nothing wrong with being different"_, Tenor replied.

_"I'm starting to realize that now", _Raeya grinned, looking back at Toothless before addressing Tenor again.

_"So I get what the King and Queen are, but what exactly do you do?"_

_"Well, any problem that Draconia has goes through me first. If it's something trivial, I deal with it. If it isn't, then I work with the King and Queen to solve it. Basically, I work with other dragons to ensure Draconia remains prosperous", _Tenor explained.

_"Okay, what about you?", _Raeya asked, looking at Windwalker.

_"Being the Captain of the Guard, I deal with security and safety. I command all the dragons when we are battle, including those 3. I also command all the dragons in the guard to ensure nothing bad happens and that our borders aren't breached. But either than that, my main priority is to ensure those 3 are safe, even though they don't need my protection", _Windwalker stated.

_"Wow. How did a Night Fury like you end up in that position?"_

_"Well, that is a long story, but all I can say is that I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my best friend", _Windwalker answered, gesturing to Chris. Raeya was puzzled at the sight before her.

Chris was currently playing with the children alongside his wife. He and the children were so focused on their playing that they paid no heed to them. Serenity was the first to notice and soon stopped Chris. He got up and walked toward them, ripping the 3 hatchlings off of him as approached.

_"Who is this?", _Raeya asked, utterly confused.

_"My name is Chris", _the man spoke.

Raeya backed up a little. Had that human just spoke in their tongue?

_"Did you just-?"_

"Yes, I can speak Dragonese", Chris answered the unfinished question.

_"How?!"_

"Thanks to those two. They're my parents", Chris replied, gesturing to Re and Aurora.

Raeya's mouth hung agape.

_"Did you somehow get turned into a human by a witch?"_, Raeya wondered.

Chris and the rest of the Draconians chuckled at that.

_"No, but I do like your imagination. Their my adoptive parents. They rescued me from a burnt down village and raised me as their own", _Chris said cooly.

_"Okay, but that doesn't explain how Windwalker became Captain of the Guard, let alone how you even met"_, Raeya pressed.

"That is a long story, but basically I saved her life", Chris responded.

_"No, I saved your life", _Windwalker negated.

"Uuhh, are we going to have this discussion again?", Chris groaned.

_"What?"_

"It's complicated", Chris and Windwalker said at the same time.

"So who's this honey?", Serenity asked in her honey sweet voice. The hatchlings and Edelweiss all trailed behind her.

"This is... I don't know who she is. What's your name?", Chris asked Raeya.

_"It's Raeya"_

"Raeya. What a beautiful name. Just as beautiful as your eyes", Serenity smiled.

_"Thank you. You are kind", _Raeya smiled back.

"Thanks. My name is Serenity. This little flower is Edelweiss, our daughter. That is Black Widow-Windwalker and Tenor's child- and this is Apollo and Avalon-the King and Queen's hatchlings", Serenity smiled while pointing to each of the children.

_"Oh, well, hello little ones, and Serenity. What do you and Chris do?"_

"Chris and I protect dragons. He fights for them while I heal them. He is a dragon knight while I'm a dragon healer", Serenity explained while Chris wrapped an arm around her.

_"You both protect dragons?"_

"That's all we've ever known. I met Serenity ever since she was brought to the castle when we were little. She too was raised by dragons after her birth family threw her out", Chris explained, squeezing his wife gently.

_"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. How did that happen?", _Raeya asked.

Chris was about to speak but was interrupted by Re.

_"I hate to interrupt but we have a task to do", _Re said.

"And what would that be?", Hiccup asked.

_"Windwalker's crown has been misplaced. It's not anywhere on Dragon Island. We think it might be somewhere on this island since this is the only other place it would be", _Aurora explained.

Raeya tensed. She hadn't counted on that. She was panicking on the inside while on the outside she was calm and collective.

"Well, the more dragons in the air, the better our chances of finding it", Chris added.

_"What do you say? Do you want to help us find it?", _Re asked Raeya.

She paused for a bit while adjusting her plan. All she had to do was lead them away from the cove and nothing would go wrong.

_"Okay. Sure", _Raeya nodded.

With that said, she and the others took off in search for the missing crown.


	5. Chapter 5

Kassandra woke up with a groan. She blocked the light out of her eyes when she opened them. She couldn't really see anything but she knew she was near the ocean. After her eyes adjusted to the light, her ears confirmed her belief when she gazed out and saw miles and miles of ocean.

She looked down and saw that her boat had washed up on a rocky beach and that some water was leaking on the far side of her boat. She sighed, knowing this was to be expected.

"Well, at least you're away from home", Kassandra said to herself, after assessing the condition of her boat.

She jumped out and got a better look at her surroundings. On the opposite side of the beach was a huge forest, bigger than any she had ever seen back in her village.

She leaned over and grabbed the pile of rope in the boat and proceeded to tie it around the bow and mass thwart. After they were fastened, she got the 2 ends of the boat and with a heavy grunt she began to haul it across the beach.

It took her longer than she expected, especially when she had to drag it over the huge roots of the trees near the beach. After about 25 minutes of tiring exertion she finally managed to successfully disguise her boat among the trees, shrouding it with surrounding fauna.

She huffed and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She looked back across the ocean and noticed the sun was a little past high noon.

"Okay, I have enough time to find shelter...and food", she added as she felt her stomach grumble.

She sighed and looked back at the neverending forest. With nothing else to do she took off, trying to find a suitable place for her.

Kassandra had to admit that the forest was beautiful. The plush plant life and various shades of green and brown heavily contrasted to the environment she grew up in. She wouldn't mind living here for awhile.

However, she soon regretted that when a bitter wind blew across her flank. She cringed, not expecting such a cold wind. She didn't think winds could get that cold. Wearing a short, white dress that also didn't cover her upper arms didn't help either. She recalled a time when there was a harsh winter back home. Little did she know that it was about to get a lot deadlier.

A sudden snort and rustling of leaves sent her on alert. She spun around and saw the bushes shaking. She grew tense as a group of wild boars emerged. She was heavily outnumbered and they all seemed ferocious. Kassandra took a deep breath and exhaled, slowly reaching for her weapon.

They snorted and squealed threateningly, starting to advance on their prey. She smirked as she tore the weapon from her side and unveiled it to her attackers.

Her whip uncoiled as it sank to the ground. It was thick towards the handle and thinned out toward the tip much like any other whip. However, many of its kind, it had a deadly alteration to it-It was made of metal. The whip was made of small, interlocking pieces of metal that can easily bend in any direction once braided together. In length, the whip was about 17 feet long. The whip split in half, like a snake's tongue would, at the fall. Instead of poppers at the end of each fall, there was instead a narrow and thin, crystal-shaped spike. It was metal except for the handle. That was made of dense wood and adorned a thicker spike at the end of it.

The boars paused for a moment before resuming their hunt. Kassandra slowly worked the whip around her as they circled her. She steadily increased her movements as they halted and looked at her.

Suddenly, one charged toward her from her left side. She saw it and immediately flicked her whip in its direction. No sooner did it leave a deep gash on its side, causing it squeal in pain and back off.

2 more charged her from the front. She easily whipped downward, causing one of them to go sprawling in the dirt as a mark was left across its face. This didn't stop the other boar however. Kassandra quickly sidestepped and watched as it charged past her. She quickly snagged its hind leg with her whip, jerking it to a halt. She then swung the boar high above her head before sending it crashing into another nearby boar.

This sent a few boars running, but that didn't stop the biggest boar from standing his ground. It huffed and snorted angrily, pawing at the ground.

Kassandra gazed at the boar, suspecting it to be the leader. She stood up and cracked her whip menacingly, doing her best to intimate the creature.

The boar snarled and charged at Kassandra. She cracked the whip forward, but she missed when the boar dodged right and proceed to plow right into Kassandra. The impact took her off guard and sent her flying a good 15 feet.

She groaned as she the breath was knocked out of her. She looked up just in time to see the boar snap its jaws at her. Kassandra gasped as she spread her whip out and caught his jaws with her whip at the last minute.

The boar snorted angrily as the metal snake wedged itself between his jaws, preventing him from defeating the human female.

Kassandra struggled as the boar thrashed around, trying to free itself. She then twisted the whip around its neck and constricted it tightly.

The boar gasped and struggled against his captor, trying to get air in his lungs. But Kassandra kept her grip around its neck, unwilling to let it live anymore.

Steadily, the boar slowed its movements down until it slumped to the ground, dead. Kassandra stayed there on top of the boar, huffing and puffing. She definitely didn't expect to use up so much energy fending off the boars.

She looked out toward the sky and noticed that it was filled with streaks of orange and purple, signaling it was dusk.

"Well, at least I have food", Kassandra said to herself.

She coiled her weapon back up and proceeded to drag one of the boars by the legs. She did plan on it eating it but another blistering cold wind changed her priorities. She had to find shelter, now. Quickly, she hid her food between some bushes before she took off again at a quicker place, desperate to find a decent shelter that would protect her from the harsh climate.

The sun was almost below the horizon, signaling the beginning of night. The winds grew harsher, leaving Kassandra in a trembling state. It didn't help that it started to lightly snow either.

She really regretted leaving in such a hace. She regretted not having things packed in advance but given the circumstances, she didn't have much time to prepare. She had to leave immediately or face the consequences.

The snow fell heavier as Kassandra wandered aimlessly. Her thin apparel did nothing to protect her from the elements. She prayed to her gods that she would live to see the morning. Her shivering got worse as another wind battered against her, the cold numbing all of her senses.

In all her life, she never faced a cold night like she did tonight. She still pushed on. Her will to live guiding every fiber of her being.

At long, last her prayers were answered. She spotted a cave amidst the white background. With nothing left to lose, she trudged forward. She collapsed onto the ground, grateful that the cave isolated her from the harshness of the environment. In fact, it seemed warm in here, not that she was complaining.

What she did notice was that it was dark and wet, considering how she could only see dark silhouettes against the pitch black of the cave as well as hear slight dripping noises.

She crawled on her hands and knees, too exhausted to stand up. She decided to feel the cave floor for a comfortable place to sleep. She thanked the gods that it was warm enough to not need a fire, since she couldn't find any materials to start one. At long last, she found a slanted rock, balled up, and fell asleep.

It was dead night when she was woken up. Some type of hot, moist air blew across her unconscious form, stirring her awake. She fussed before opening her eyes. What she saw next shook her to her very core.

A deadly 2-headed reptile, with purple and green colors was gazing at her. She had never encountered a devil like this before in her life. She scrambled away from it, breathing quickly in fear. She had no idea what it was, but the folklore she grew up with gave her suspicion of what it was.

It drew closer, curious and suspicious of the human dwelling in its cave. It didn't look like a threat. That is, until it made this hideous cracking noise. That prompted the dragon to go in defensive mode, hiss, and roar loudly in the human's face.

Kassandra figured that if she tried to intimidate it, it would back away in fear. Her suspicions were confirmed when the reptile-now-dragon hissed and roared in her face. This caused her to scramble to her feet and run out of the cave in fear.

The snow was lightly falling but she didn't care. She was fending for her life. All of a sudden, she saw a green smoke out of the corner of her eye before a bright flash lit up the darkness. A sudden blast of heat catapulted her forward and sent her down a a steep hill.

She screamed as she tumbled down the hill. She was slapped by many bushes and leaves as she continued her descent. When she finally reached the bottom, she was covered by a big bush, protecting her from the snow. She tried to get up but she was too disoriented and tired to care. With nothing else to do, she let herself fall asleep.

The Zippleback watched the human tumble down the hill until they could see it no more.

_"Well, that was interesting. I hardly expected her to fall down the hill", _the right head said.

_"Even though that was unexpected, she deserved it. She slept in our cave and tried to attack us"_, the left one countered.

_"Should we tell Toothless about this? I have never seen her before on this island, so she must be some type of intruder", _the right one suggested.

_"Let's wait until morning. No need to disturb the alpha. And besides, where is this human gonna go where we can't find her", _the left one responded as they returned to their dwelling.

Little did they know that Toothless was wide awake and talking to a certain Night Fury who just happened to show up on his island unannounced.


	6. Chapter 6

Raeya, the Draconians, and the dragons and riders of Berk all took to the skies in hopes of finding Windwalker's crown. Raeya was tense, trying to figure out a way to keep the others away from the cove.

No one spoke a word until Tuffnut thought of something.

"How are we suppose to find it if we don't know what it looks like?", he asked.

Astrid was about to snap back at him until she choked on her words. He was right. They didn't even know what the crown looked like. They all looked at Windwalker and Chris for an explanation.

_"It's a black crown with a hurricane symbol in the center of it"_, Windwalker said with Chris translating.

"Okay, so how are we suppose to find one small crown on this big of an island? You are basically asking us to find a needle in a haystack", Snotlout complained.

_"While it may seem like that, it is quite simple in reality. Since Windwalker has been wearing it a lot, it has her scent on it. So the dragons just have to let their noises guide them to the crown. But for you humans, with your underdeveloped sense of smell, it would definitely be like looking for a needle in a haystack"_, Re explained.

Raeya scowled a bit. At this rate, the crown will be found and her whole plan will fall apart.

"Wouldn't it be better if we all split up? That way we would cover more ground faster and save a lot of time", Astrid suggested.

_"Good idea. Let's do that"_, Re said.

Raeya's eyes lit up. The blonde human bought her time.

All the dragons split up and scoured the island, searching for the black crown. Raeya pretended to look somewhere else, away from the cove at first. When all the dragons were a good distance away, she zoomed toward the cove.

She landed and immediately went to the spot between the rock and the roots and dig up her prize; It was still intact. She looked around one last time before she picked it up in her jaws and ran to the big pond in the center of the cove. She then glided across the body of water, dropping it once she was in the middle of it.

It splashed in the water with a 'ker-plunk' and snakes down towards the bottom. When Raeya landed on the other side, she gazed back and smiled when the water didn't looked disturbed, as if nothing agitated it. She thought for a moment as she reworked her plan.

But then a snap of a branch put her on high alert. She jerked her head around and froze as a female human stared back at her, not moving at all.

Two things surprised her: first how this human was able to even find this place and secondly how different this human was from the others. She had long black hair in some type of pattern going down her back. She had a short white dress on lined with a gold coloring of sorts, as well as brownish footwear; All she knew was that she wasn't wearing the attire that the other humans wore. Not only that, but she was darker in color than the others. She wasn't pale like the other humans. She was about the same coloring as those two humans from Draconia, but a different shade.

The human moved to grab something on her side but stopped when she locked eyes with her. Raeya felt like she should defend herself from this human, but she had this gut feeling that she shouldn't harm her. Sure this human was a stranger to her, but she had this feeling that this human wouldn't hurt her. She should've been snarling or growling at this human, yet something about the human fascinated her.

Kassandra woke up to the bright sun filtering through the gaps of the bush. She groggily rubbed her eyes and tried to figure out how she ended up in the bush.

She groaned when she remembered she was chased by a dragon. It was still a shock to her. She still couldn't believe that they were in fact real. She had only believed they to be myths in the stories she was told as a child.

"How? Why?", she asked herself.

What made her confused was that the dragon she encountered last night didn't quite fit the description of the folklore she grew up with.

The dragons she had heard of were guardians of the relics of the gods such as Ladon or the Colchian Dragon, or were devilish creatures like the Hydra or Pytho. In fact, the only dragons who seemed to have done no harm or good were the Solar Dragons or the Ismenian Dragon, who had some connection to the gods themselves.

Kassandra was beyond confused. Was she being punished by the Gods for fleeing home? Was she near one of the great dragons' dwelling? Did she just encounter the Hydra just now? If she did, it didn't seem as deadly as she initially thought it would be.

"...that is until it blew fire at me", Kassandra mumbled.

If she learned anything from the stories she was told as a child, she really hoped she wouldn't encounter another dragon again.

She was broken out of her train of thought when he stomach grumbled, louder than it had yesterday. She realized that she still had not eaten when she had arrived. Thinking back to the slain boars, she got out from under the bush and walked back up the hill.

She honestly didn't know where she was going, but she was determined to find those boars again. She was starving! As she traversed the woods, she made sure to steer clear of the dragon's cave, as well as any other cave for that matter.

She wandered and wandered and still no sight of the boars. She could've sworn she left them near that group of trees with the broken branch. Little did she know that dragons would never pass up a free meal.

With her food missing, she decided to go searching for more food. She kept walking and climbing until she found the most beautiful thing.

Her eyes widened when she saw an oasis of sort in the middle of this forest. She took in the sights of the cove, fascinated by the beauty of it all. From the plush greens, to the sparking waterfall pooling into the vast pond below. Looking at the water prompted another survival instinct. Besides food, she needed water.

With that in mind, she excitedly looked around for a way down. Once she did, she climbed down the rocky side and sprinted towards the edge of the pond. She dropped to her knees and scooped up a big handful of water before drinking out of it greedily.

She drank until her belly was full. With that part of her satisfied, she decided to do something she hadn't done since she left her village: shower.

She undressed and bathed in the waterfall. Seeing how she didn't have a bin of hot water and a rag, she decided to use the current of the waterfall to wash away from filth. After she deemed herself clean, she stepped out and dried herself off with nearby miss before stepping back into her clothes. However, since her hair was still wet, she decided to sunbathe until it was dry again.

She hid behind a rock, where she could dry her hair and block the sun out of her eyes at the same time. Feeling calm and relaxed, she decided to take a nap.

After relaxing for a bit, she opened her eyes when she heard a thump. She peered around the rock and gasped silently when she saw a sleek black dragon on the other side of the cove.

It looked like it was digging up something. When it looked up in her direction she dashed behind the rock, fearing it saw her.

She peered out again and saw the dragon fly over the pond and land on the other side, while dropping something in the pond. It then gazed back at the water and at that moment, Kassandra decided she needed to escape. She saw the entrance of the cove and realized it wasn't that far. Only the dragon stood in her way. As long as she didn't disturb the dragon, she would be fine. So she tiptoed her way to the entrance of the cove until she stepped on a lonesome branch.

She froze when the dragon snapped its head at her. She couldn't do anything. She didn't want to do anything. If this dragon was anything like the Hydra she encountered yesterday, she did not want to get on its bad side. But she couldn't remain defenseless!

She moved her hand to her whip but froze when she locked eyes with the dragon. It didn't growl or do anything threatening. It just stared at her with its eyes slightly narrowed. Kassandra couldn't explain it, but this one seemed different. Something told her this dragon wouldn't harm her. It was like she was staring past the dragon as it did to her. Kassandra wanted to defend herself but chose not to. The dragon seemed to notice as well for it did nothing in return. They just stared at each other. The dragon was fascinated at her as she was to it. Kassandra didn't even know animals could have different colored eyes. She didn't know whether to be shocked or awed.

Even though they did not know each other, they sensed no malice in each other, just nervousness.

Raeya was a bit apprehensive, but made no move showing her feelings. In fact, she was more curious about the human than fearful of it. And based on the human's reaction to her, Raeya was certain the human felt the same way. This human did not blindly attack her like the others she encountered, nor did she make a move to touch her.

They were broken out of their trance when the beating of wings was heard.

"Hey Raeya we are gonna-", Chris was cut off when he noticed the girl in front of her. Windwalker would've landed but stopped short when she too saw the human.

Kassandra looked at the man and gasped when she noticed it rode a dragon. Her shock quantified when she noticed the dragon he rode was very similar to the dragon in front of her, only it had honey yellow eyes.

Kassandra started panicking. She was outnumbered and was pretty sure she would lose if she picked a fight with a man who could ride a dragon. He defied every tale she was ever told. No mere mortal could ride a dragon! Only gods could ride dragons! She was scared and could only do one thing: run.

With the dragon in front of her looking at the duo as well, she bolted for the entrance and started making her way up and out of the cove.

Raeya turned her head back around to see the human making a getaway. But it was human, and humans are bad. Well, not the dragon riders at least. Raeya didn't want to stop the , Windwalker and Chris thought otherwise.

The duo zoomed after the intruder and Windwalker snagged her by the foot before flying away towards the village. Kassandra screamed as the ground below her started to fade away.

She looked up and saw that the black dragon had grabbed her foot and was taking her somewhere. The man atop the dragon seemed to be steering the beast. More than likely taking her to her doom. She didn't want to die. Not yet! With adrenaline coursing through her veins and no other options, she unraveled her whip and snapped it toward the man's neck. It wrapped around his neck successfully when she heard it snag and heard him gag. She yelled as she pulled it downwards with all her might. Chris could do nothing as he was ripped from the saddle and fell to the ground.

Windwalker looked back in horror as she heard her rider gasp before being flung off of her back. Her instincts kicked in. She could worry about the intruder later. She could not and would not let her rider fall to his death. Dropping the human, she quickly U-turned and zipped towards Chris. She pumped her wings in vain, trying desperately to save her rider. However, she could do nothing as Chris impacted a tree, and tumbled and snagged every branch on his descent.

She cringed when she heard a particular 'clonk' of Chris slamming his head onto a thick branch. She dived toward the bottom of the tree and barely managed to catch Chris before he hit the ground. She rolled to a stop with Chris protectively in her clutches.

_"Chris?! Chris wake up!"_, Windwalker cried out. She nudged him gently a few times but got no response. The blood gushing out of his head did not stop. She licked him a few times, doing her best to maintain her rider's life. She roared to the heavens, hoping that one of her allies would hear her.

Kassandra screamed as she fell. She looked around, trying to find a way to slow her fall. Soon she spotted what she needed and flung her whip towards it. Her whip wrapped around a branch and tightened when Kassandra no longer fell but swung sideways.

She uncoiled her weapon and rolled to a her feet, successfully avoiding a dangerous fall. Although she wished she could say the same about the man. But that was the last thing on her mind. She needed to go before that thing came back.

She ran as fast as he feet could allow it. Her hopes were crushed when all of a sudden, a swarm of dragons landed all around her. She initially thought she could take them on but she quickly dismissed that idea. Some were round, long, small, or big. They all had different colors but what linked them was that they all looked pissed off. Pissed off at her.

What made it worse was that some of these dragons had riders as well, and they looked equally as pissed off. If she thought Chris defied what she believed in, she had another thing coming.


	7. Chapter 7

Kassandra was freaking out right now. One moment she was running from a dragon and its rider, then the next thing she knew she was surrounded by a horde of both dragons and people.

She couldn't do anything as she was bound and carried in the claws of an angry green dragon. But what confused her the most was that this dragon was wearing gold armor. He also was wearing a crown, along with 2 other dragons.

Whenever she made a noise, the dragon would look down at her and snarl fiercely, silencing her immediately. This dragon seemed to be the most pissed off of all the others.

It was another 5 minutes before Kassandra saw civilization again. She was startled to say the least. All of the structures were made out of wood. A stark contrast to the stone buildings in her city. The only thing that was made out of stone was this weird building that had smoke billowing out from the top. She assumed it to be the forge. Another building that awed her was this tall building set at the top of a hill with a big staircase leading up to it. It kind of looked like her city hall back home so she could only assume it was their city hall.

Not only that but the people startled her too. All of them were really big and more than likely strong. They seemed to be covered in hair, both animal and human alike. She could barely distinguish the guys from the girls. Most of them carried some type of weapon with them wherever they went, even to do simple tasks. These were not the skinny, and fit people she grew up with. These were ugly savages!

And the last thing that strained her mind was the fact that there was a dragon everywhere her eyes wandered. There were blue and green and all shades of dragons. Some looked like rocks while others seemed to be shaped liked fire. She still couldn't fathom the fact that there were so many of them.

They soon descended to an a large opening between most of the buildings, in the center of town. The green dragon swung her forward when he was about to land, causing her to roll sideways when she hit the ground.

It growled as it roughly made her stand up with its head and made some type of whipping noise with its tail, forcing her to go forward. She trudged forward as she looked all around her.

Most of the people spared some time from their activities to look at her before they resumed with their lives. Their eyes widened at the sight of her before they whispered among themselves.

She couldn't understand a word they were saying as she looked back at them. She grimaced, knowing this could turn into a really big understanding since they couldn't speak each other's languages.

She was snapped out of her train of thought when that green dragon snarled again and whipped its tail. She quickened her pace at that, not wanting to get on its bad side.

She soon was escorted to another stone like building. The dragon stopped at the entrance. Kassandra didn't know what to do when a thin but scowling blonde woman grabbed her roughly and pushed her forward into the building.

Once stepping inside, she immediately recognized it to be a prison given the fact there were cells lined up next to each other. She was stopped before the one at the far end. It looked cramped in there, with only enough room to lie down sideways.

Kassandra moved her arms anxiously, disliking this turn of events. However, the blond woman noticed this and brought up her weapon, a deadly-looking axe, convincing Kassandra to stop.

She was manhandled as the woman checked her for weapons. The blond woman made some type of confused grunt when she removed the steel whip from Kassandra's side.

"Hey, that's mine! You give that back!", Kassandra whined.

The blonde woman growled her displeasure, tossing the whip away from Kassandra. She then turned her around, opened the cell door, broke her bindings, and finally shoved Kassandra into the cell before locking it on her.

Once free, Kassandra immediately tried to turn around and get to her whip, but was met with a solid wooden door.

"Why are you doing this? If it is about the man and his...dragon, he attacked me!", Kassandra pleaded as she grabbed onto the bars of the cell.

The woman bent over as she picked up the steel whip, curious about its nature.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?!", Kassandra yelled.

The blonde woman spoke fiercely in her weird language, making a big point by pointing her axe at her; It sounded harsh. It then said something more even-toned before it exited the building, leaving her more than dazed, scared, and confused.

Windwalker was on the verge of madness, anxiously waiting for Serenity to show up.

She whined as she looked down at her rider, noticing that he was getting paler by the second. She knew nothing about how to heal wounds and tried her best to stop the bleeding. However, no amount of licks could fix the situation.

A roar then made her snap her head up and was relieved to see her mate Tenor with his rider, Serenity, speeding toward them.

_"Down here! Hurry!"_, Windwalker shouted.

Tenor glided low before landing with a trot. Serenity immediately jumped off when Tenor touched the ground and quickly rushed to her injured husband.

"What happened?", Serenity asked Windwalker, calmly but with an obviously evident tone of worry. Serenity began looking over her unconscious husband.

_"We were just flying towards Raeya, trying to update her on the crown situation. But when we found her, she was in front of a strange human female. Based on her scent, she didn't belong here and had to be an intruder of sorts. They were just staring at each other. Chris and I figured she was going to attack Raeya, so we treated her like a threat. We grabbed her and hastily flew back to the village. I noticed something was wrong when I heard him choke, and when I looked back she had wrapped her weapon around his neck before jerking him off my saddle. He started falling and I had no choice but to drop the stranger and catch Chris. But...but I was too late as he smashes into a tree and hit the branches on his way down. I could do nothing as he tumbled down and ultimately whacked his head against a thick branch. The only thing I could do was catch him before he hit the ground"_, Windwalker choked out, each word like a dagger cutting through her throat.

"He's alive but won't be for much longer if I don't take care of his head wound. At this rate, he'll bleed out", Serenity declared.

_"Then heal him please!"_, Windwalker barked.

_"Windwalker calm down!"_, Tenor said gently.

_"You try calming down when you fail to do nothing to save your best friend!"_, Windwalker retorted, starting to get frantic.

"Everybody step back! We are gonna have to heal him here. If we take him back to the village, he might not make it!", Serenity asserted.

The two dragons stopped arguing and stepped back a couple of feet. Serenity got up and rushed to one of the saddlebags on Tenor's saddle. Attached to it was her medical bag, full of all the remedies and tools necessary to heal dragons of all kinds.

Even though she mainly healed dragons, she healed humans from time to time. She wasn't about to let her husband die when she could definitely do something about it!

With no time to spare, she began to heal her husband.

Astrid exited the prison and was greeted to the rest of the riders and dragons.

"She's locked away and not going anywhere anytime soon", Astrid asserted.

_"Good. She deserves to rot after what she did to my son"_, Re growled, flashing his teeth.

"Don't worry. We will question her later. Right now, we need to make sure Chris is alright", Hiccup voiced.

"Yeah. I don't want to deal with this", Astrid added as she showed everybody the whip.

"Woah. I want that!", Tuffnut voiced.

"No. It's mine!", Ruffnut exclaimed.

"I don't have time to deal with this. Let's go guys", Aurora said as she spread her wings and flew back to the forest.

_"Raeya. Do you mind if you watch her? Just in case she tries to escape?"_, Re asked.

Raeya was doing her best to stay in the back of the crowd. She wasn't planning on doing anything. She was still musing over the fact that the human didn't back away from her. Why didn't she?

_"Raeya? Did you hear me?"_, Re reiterated.

_"Oh. Yes, I can do that"_, Raeya blinked as she focused on the dragon king's command. The king nodded before he too flew off. It's not like she had anything better to do. She didn't really know the male and she was curious about that female still. Even though they couldn't understand each other, she guessed watching her would suffice.

Raeya turned around and sat at the threshold of the prison, gazing at Kassandra. She was able to notice more things about her than she initially did. She had blue eyes, akin to the ocean. The human also seemed to be thin. Almost as thin as that human with the metal leg. She wasn't big like the rest of them.

Kassandra was confused as that dragon with the different colored eyes gazed at her. What was it doing? Why was it staring at her?

The two females kept on staring at each other for awhile. Sometimes one would break eye contact only to lock eyes again a few moments later. They sat there in awkward silence since they obviously couldn't communicate with each other. Or could they?

Kassandra slumped against a wall when she ran out of things to distract herself with. With a huff, she blew the hair out of her eyes and regarded the dragon, who currently was looking somewhere else, obviously just as bored as her.

"So...what are you doing?", Kassandra asked.

Raeya's ears perked up and when she heard the rest of the question, gave Kassandra a sarcastic look.

"What? It's not my fault you can't understand me!", Kassandra exclaimed.

_"It's not my fault that YOU can't understand ME!"_, Raeya countered. But all Kassandra could hear was a series of short grunts and groans.

"What'd I say?", Kassandra asked accusingly.

Raeya rolled her eyes and slumped back to the ground, just wanting to rest.

"Look at me. Arguing with a dragon. My family would go insane if they saw this", Kassandra said to herself. She was still getting used to the whole dragons-aren't-as-rare-as-you'd-expect thing. Apparently they came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. She seriously needed to reprioritize her beliefs.

She gazed once more at the dragon, noticing it's bored expression. She couldn't believe it but she actually wanted to...talk with it. Not that she could verbally talk with it, but somehow communicate with it. If those riders could do it and gain the trust of one to allow it on its back, surely she could work out something with this one, right?

"You have interesting eyes. In fact, I have never met a soul with eyes like that", Kassandra spoke up.

She smiled on the inside when the dragon perked up at the mentioning of its eyes.

"Some people back at home would consider your eyes to be a gift from the Gods while others would view it as punishment", Kassandra added.

She watched as the dragon's face seemed to have lifted before it fell.

"I mean, I would think it would be a little weird for a person to have it, but I think it suits you well dragon", Kassandra complimented.

She tilted her head in confusion when the dragon warbled and crooned lowly. If she was back at home, she would've been condemned a fool for talking to such a mindless beast, but she knew no one here, so she felt justified to continue the conversation.

Kassandra had a lot on her mind, and thus had many questions, but she chose one that took up most of her thinking.

"I have a question to ask of you dragon. Why didn't you kill me?", Kassandra questioned.

The dragon looked down at the ground before it looked back up. It let out some type of half-growl and half-warble. It then gave her a soft expression, like it didn't know the exact answer.

'Well look at that Kassandra, it can feel', she thought to herself.

'Well duh. If it has the ability to choose not to kill you, then obviously it has feelings', she added.

The dragon then growled and crooned. Kassandra tilted her head in confusion before the dragon gestured to her then to itself. She squinted her eyes in puzzlement. What was it trying to say?

It then hit her like a stone wall.

"Why did I save you?", Kassandra asked slowly, also gesticulating. Her doubt was erased when the dragon nodded.

It was now her turn to look down in thought.

_"Why did I save her?"_, she whispered to herself. She had so much on her mind that she couldn't think of a clear answer. Although, deep down inside, she had a feeling she knew why. However, she was too afraid to admit it, for fear of the consequences to follow.


	8. Chapter 8

Raeya looked down in thought. She was really confused on her part as well. The human didn't smell bad. In fact she smelled some type of floral scent as well as wood on her. But why did she save the human? Reasonably, she could've been a threat. Yet she didn't treat her like one.

Raeya shook her head. She shouldn't be worrying about this human, especially when she had a bigger problem at hand.

Tenor gently flew back to the village with his unconscious nephew across his back. Serenity continued to treat Chris despite being in the air. Everything was under control. She just needed to get Chris onto a bed. More of her supplies were also back at Berk.

"Just hold on a little bit longer", Serenity whispered to Chris.

Tenor landed as smoothly as he could outside Serenity's house that Stoick constructed for a few years ago when she used to stay at Berk.

They quickly rushed to the house and gently transferred Chris from Tenor's saddle to the bed. Windwalker was quietly following from behind.

Serenity then ran to a nearby storage baskets and was relieved to see that most of her medical supplies were still intact. With the life of her husband depending on it, she immediately got to work.

Everybody else, minus Raeya, flew over to Serenity's house, hoping she would be there.

Their worries were calmed when they saw Tenor and Windwalker waiting patiently outside.

_"Where's Chris? Is he alright?"_, Aurora asked anxiously.

_"So far yes. He's in good hands"_, Tenor said calmly.

_"Tenor did you not see the amount of blood gushing out of his head?!"_, Windwalker asked indignantly.

_"Windwalker you need to calm down. We both know he has been in worse situations than this"_, Re replied.

Windwalker closed her eyes and let out the breathe she didn't know she was holding, slumping to the ground as well.

Tenor went over to her and laid down next to her, gently wrapping a wing around her. _"Hey. Chris is going to be okay. I know you're worried and I would be too. In fact I would be just like you if that was Serenity in there. My nephew is your best friend and you have every right to be worried; It shows you care. But have a little faith in his mate. She can do wonders"_. As he said this, he gently nuzzled her neck, trying his best to soothe his love.

Windwalker sighed and nuzzled him back softly.

_"And stop blaming yourself. You couldn't possibly foresee that the girl was going to yank Chris from your saddle. I'm just relieved that you saved him from hitting the ground. If you didn't intervene, Chris would probably be in a worse condition than he is now",_ Tenor added.

_"Yeah. You're probably right"_, Windwalker exhaled. She then lifted her head when she realized something.

_"Where's the female human?",_ Windwalker asked.

_"She is being held in a cell until she is interrogated"_, Re answered.

_"Well if you don't mind me, I'm going to ask her some questions of my own"_, Windwalker seethed as she got up.

_"Hold it Windwalker! You will not harm her"_, Re ordered.

_"I'm not going to harm her. Just make sure she doesn't escape"_, Windwalker lied.

_"Raeya is already doing that. So I suggest you wait here and make sure Chris is okay"_, Re responded.

Windwalker huffed and went back to lay down with Tenor.

"Well, while Serenity is healing Chris, why don't we go and question her now?", Hiccup suggested as he got back on Toothless.

_"That's a good idea"_, Re said as he turned around and took off with the others, flanked by Aurora.

"How long am am I gonna be in here?", Kassandra groaned.

The black dragon stopped engaging in "conversation" awhile ago and was currently sleeping she suspected.

Just then, the group of dragons and their riders that caught her landed outside. Their landing woke Raeya up.

_"What's going on?"_, Raeya asked.

_"We are going to find out who she is and why she is here"_, Aurora responded.

_"Has she given you any trouble?"_, Aurora continued.

_"No. She is actually pretty harmless"_, Raeya answered.

_"If she was able to hurt my son, she is not harmless"_, Re stated.

Kassandra looked up when she heard noise coming her way. She straightened up when she saw the blonde woman along with a scrawny brunette man walk up to her cell.

The blonde woman grabbed her roughly and dragged her throughout the village. Kassandra was surrounded on all sides by dragons and those ugly-looking people. She had never seen so much hair on a body before!

Before long they dragged her up these steep steps leading to the tall building she saw earlier. Now that she was closer, she saw 2 statues of a big, burly man with a majestic beard lining both sides of the entrance.

When she was forced into the place she was immediately overwhelmed with an acrid smell. It smelt like bad wine and wet wood to her.

She was then tied to a chair while surrounded by the riders' dragons and the riders themselves. They didn't look happy. Then again if she was in their position, she wouldn't be happy either.

They all had sour looks on their faces except that thin, brunette man. He had what looked like a concern expression etched onto his features.

That man went up to her and looked her dead in the eye. Kassandra tilted her head as the man started to speak gibberish. At least that's what it sounded like to her.

"I don't know what you are saying", Kassandra said really slow and long.

The man scrunched up his face in confusion before turning back and discussing something with the rest of his people. Her faced reeled back in disbelief when she saw the man communicated with the dragons in armor.

"What is this?", she asked in shock.

They all looked at each other before the blue dragon in the silver armor approached her. Kassandra squirmed, afraid of what the beast was going to do to her.

Aurora got really close to Kassandra until she was face-to-face with her. Kassandra scrunched her eyes closed and looked away, preparing for the dragon to bite her head off.

She was taken by surprise when she felt a warm blast of air flow across her face. Her throat immediately burned and went dry. She coughed a bit as her throat stopped burning but now got scratchy. Her throat suddenly stopped acting up and went back to normal. Although it felt weird to her opened her eyes again and noticed the blue dragon returned to the others.

"What did you do? Why did my throat burn? Were you trying to choke me?", Kassandra asked.

_"No. I simply used a translation spell on you. Now you can understand us just like we can understand you"_, Aurora replied.

Kassandra's eyes bulged out of her sockets. She thought she was hallucinating for a moment. Did that dragon just talk to her?

"What?", Kassandra asked as she went pale.

"You can understand us as we can understand you", a beefy-looking but short, black-haired man said, with a hint of annoyance.

She thrashed in her chair when she realized she could now understand both the dragon and the man.

"What type of sorcery is this?", she blurted out.

_"It isn't sorcery, just dragon magic"_, Aurora answered.

"Magic? Dragons? Dragons with magic?! What is going on?", Kassandra exclaimed.

"We are going to be the ones asking the questions. Now tell me, who are you and what are you doing on my island?", Hiccup asked, taking over.

"Who are you?", Kassandra asked.

"I asked you first. Now tell me", Hiccup demanded.

Kassandra's eyes darted around before they finally landed on Hiccup's. "My name is Kassandra and I come from a land very far away from here."

"Kassandra huh? Weird name. Then again, I have a weird name too", Hiccup thought out loud.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Hiccup. And I am the chief of Berk", Hiccup stated.

"What's Beeeerrrrkk?"

"This is Berk. It's the village you are in."

"You're the chief?", Kassandra asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"How did you become chief?"

"Sorry, but you are gonna answer everything we ask of you. You comply and you won't be harmed. If you don't, I will let my allies take over", Hiccup declared as he gestured to the Draconians," and they aren't happy with you."

"What did I do? I didn't do anything to them", Kassandra retorted.

"That man you jerked out of the saddle when you were caught is seriously injured right now. That man is their son and I'm sure you wouldn't want to deal with an angry dragon, especially when you hurt their children", Hiccup explained.

Kassandra titled her head in confusion before it dawned on her who he was talking about.

"How is he their son?"

"You know what? I think I'll let them deal with you. You seem like you don't want to answer to me", Hiccup shrugged as started to walk away.

"Wait wait wait! Okay. I'll tell you everything!", Kassandra panicked.

Hiccup turned back around and pulled up a stool, waiting to hear the story to come. Kassandra was nervous, hoping they would understand after all this.


	9. Chapter 9

Kassandra looked around the room, a defeated expression on her face.

"Well, I'm not from here. I came from a land very far away from here."

At that moment, she noticed a man and a woman walking in through the door, followed by 2 dragons. The man was big and buff, with a black ponytail and weird tattoos on his chin. The woman looked to be elderly and had really long hair in 3 braids. She was actually quite astounded. Nobody in her village had hair that long. The green dragon that sticker close to the man's side was green everywhere by his face-that was red. He looked to be made of armor and had an angry face. The other dragon, however, was tall and pink and brown all over. It had a wide looking head and big, yellow eyes. That one stayed closed to the woman's side. Hiccup seemed to be oblivious to this as he continued to stare at Kassandra.

"Obviously you are not from here. What is your homeland called.?", Hiccup asked.

"It's called Athens and it's not so much a homeland, it's a city of Greece", Kassandra answered as she focused her attention back on the man.

"Greece? What is that?"

"It's name of the country. It is located near the Mediterranean Sea."

"Where's that?", Astrid asked.

"You don't know where the Mediterranean Sea is?", Kassandra asked back. It then dawned on her that they wouldn't know since they are on an island far from her home.

"Uh, it's a big body of water that borders Greece. I wouldn't expect you all to know where it's at", Kassandra added.

"Alright. So the bigger question is: why did you come here?", Hiccup inquired.

"Well, I really ran away from home and my family. I didn't like what was going on over there, so I left", Kassandra sighed.

"So you decided to run away because you didn't like it there? Have you any idea how worried they all are? Have you even considered that they are going to look for you?", Astrid chimed in.

"First off, don't talk to me like a child; I'm a grown woman. Secondly, I don't expect you to understand. You don't know what I've been through. You don't know my life. Trust me if you were over there, you would want to run away too. And thirdly, who are you?", Kassandra retorted.

"I'm Astrid, his wife", Astrid replied while pointing to Hiccup.

Kassandra looked back and forth between Hiccup and Astrid with confusion.

"How did you end up with him?", Kassandra asked.

"Long story", they replied in unison.

"Anyways, what happened over there?", Fishlegs asked.

Kassandra whirled around to face Fishlegs. "And who are YOU?"

"My name is Fishlegs. And to refrain from you exhausting yourself over who is who, that is Snotlout, the twins:Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Eret, and Hiccup's mother–Valka. Their dragons are Hookfang, Barf and Belch, Skullcrusher, and Cloudjumper. Astrid rides that blue Deadly Nadder named Stormfly while Hiccup rides Toothless, the Night Fury", Fishlegs quickly explained.

"And last but not certainly least, I ride the cutest dragon in the world: Meatlug. She's a Gronkle", Fishlegs giggled as wrapped his arms around Meatlug's neck. "And we, are Vikings."

"What are Vikings?"

"That's who we are, duh! We are the fiercest warriors across the sea!", Snotlout boasted.

Kassandra mentally scoffed at his remark.

'If only they could meet the Spartans', she thought to herself. She then scanned the room, a look of deep thought on her face.

Her eyes eventually made their way to the Draconians.

"Who are they?", Kassandra asked as she locked eyes with Aurora.

Before Fishlegs could answer, Re spoke up.

_"I am Re. I am the king of the dragons' homeland called Draconia. This here is my mate Aurora. She is the ruling queen. The black dragon to my right is called Tenor. He is the prime minster. We are the royal dragons of Draconia",_ Re announced.

"What's a prime minister?"

_"Whenever a dragon has a problem, they answer to me. If it's a really big problem with tremendous impacts, then I bring it up to the king and queen"_, Tenor responded.

"So what was so bad that you had to run away?", Hiccup asked, getting back on topic.

Kassandra sighed as she rolled her eyes. "I'm getting married to someone I do not love."

All the Vikings had looks of realization and understanding. They perfectly understood where this woman was coming from. In Viking culture, parents were the ones who decided who you got married too. In many cases, the bride and groom don't even see each other until the day of the wedding! Once they actually settle down and get accustomed to each other do they grow to love each other. It was rare when a Viking couple married out of love, like Hiccup and Astrid did.

"I can definitely understand your fear and nervousness. Many of Viking marriages are arranged. While it is uncomfortable at first not knowing who your spouse is, I can assure you that with time you will grow to love him", Valka explained.

"So I'm assuming this village treats its women like property", Kassandra hissed.

"Well women need to learn their place here if they wanna survive here", Snotlout interjected.

That prompted Astrid to turn around and quickly connect her fist to his jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground in pain.

Kassandra gasped. In all her life, she had never seen a woman ever raise her hand to a man.

"Did you just hit him?!", Kassandra cried out.

"Well duh! Us girls are just as strong as men", Ruffnut commented.

"While most marriages are arranged here, every marriage is balanced and based upon mutual respect. And if it remains like that, love will surely bloom. If you and your spouse work on making the marriage the best it can be, it can be the best thing that ever happened to you both", Valka continued.

"When you put it that way it actually sounds bearable, but I don't have the satisfaction of marrying a man here. Where I'm from, women have no say in society. We have no right to speak up for ourselves or vote in the democracy. We are nothing. We have no control over our lives whatsoever. We are meant to follow the kyrios and serve the oikos to the best of our ability", Kassandra said, hate laced in her voice.

"What's an oikos and a kyrios?", Astrid asked.

"Oikos means household or family, composed of the husband, wife, children, and the slaves. A kyrios is the master of the house. It is usually the eldest male", Kassandra explained.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You guys have slaves?!", Astrid exclaimed.

Kassandra tilted her head in puzzlement. "What? Do you guys not have slaves?"

She was answered when all the Vikings shook their head in negation.

"Huh. A village without slaves. That's a first", Kassandra uttered.

"So if your life was meant to be nothing but a submissive housewife, then where did you learn to fight like that?", Hiccup asked.

"My father taught me. He was a warrior in the Athenian army. 'You will grow stronger than any man I have ever faced or will face in battle' he always told me. He knew I would be more of a fighter than a quiet wife, so he taught me how to fight and defend myself. Even though he was the kyrios of my household, he arranged me to marry a Spartan", Kassandra smiled.

"What's a Spartan?", Hiccup asked.

"They are the fiercest warriors in Greece. They are brave, ruthless, cunning, and can easily wipe out any city. Trust me when I say you don't wanna mess with Spartans", Kassandra beamed with pride.

Everybody except Hiccup, Valka, and the dragons scoffed.

"Well...if that sounds as perfect as you make it out to be, then why did you run away?", Valka inquired.

Kassandra's faced turned into a scowl. "My brother took over as kyrios when my father died a couple of months ago."

"Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that", Valka said soothingly. Hearing that made her think of Stoick.

"There is no need to be sad. He died honorably", Kassandra said flatly.

An awkward silence ensued for a bit before Kassandra broke the silence.

"Anyways, this all started when my father died and my brother became the new kyrios. He has no idea how to run an oikos and just ended up making problems worse. We always bickered but it got worse when he became kyrios. One day, he decided to break off my engagement and rearrange it to where I would marry one of his friends instead. He said it didn't matter who I got engaged to because all I'm ever good for is to make and take care of the children. But I wasn't going to have it. I ran away in the night and traversed difficult terrains, putting as much distance between myself and him. I knew he would find me if I remained on land, so I decided to take a boat and sail up north. No way my brother would venture that far. But...I got caught in a huge storm and eventually ended up here. And I'm kinda glad I ended up here. There is no way he is ever gonna find me here."

"Unless we give you back to him", Hiccup said flatly.

Everyone in the room was shocked at his words.

"Hiccup!", Astrid gasped.

"No! Why would you do that?!", Kassandra exclaimed.

"Well I can't be harboring a runaway on my island. Even if you said they can't find you, I have to take every precaution to ensure my village's survival. The last thing I want is war. Besides, how do I know you won't go and hurt more people? I don't know you. I don't know what you are capable of. With that weird weapon of yours, you easily defeated their son", Hiccup explained, pointing to the Draconians.

"I didn't mean to hurt him! He just popped up out of nowhere and snatched me up into the air! I thought he was gonna eat me or something!", Kassandra exclaimed.

Everyone chuckled at this.

"What? Dragons don't eat humans?", Kassandra questioned.

_"Not usually. We prefer fish. And humans taste bad anyways"_, Tenor laughed. That sent a shiver down Kassandra's spine.

"Well, if you promise not to cause any trouble while on my island, then you can stay here", Hiccup decided.

Kassandra opened her mouth a little in amazement.

"Really?", Kassandra asked happily.

"But, if you are going to be a resident of Berk, you need to pull your weight around here and work like everybody else", Hiccup asserted.

"Of course!", Kassandra smiled.

Hiccup then held up Kassandra's whip. "You'll get this back when you earn my trust."

Kassandra whined but nodded her head in agreement.

"And if you decide to betray my trust, you'll answer to them. Got it?", Hiccup added as he pointed to the Draconians one last time.

Kassandra looked at them and back at Hiccup, then nodded in agreement. She did not want to end up on their bad side.

"Great! Now to ensure you don't do anything you aren't suppose to, I'm going to assign someone you watch over you", Hiccup declared.

"Really?", Kassandra asked, disappointed.

Hiccup turned to the Draconians. "Do you think Raeya is willing to watch over her? To make sure she doesn't get into trouble?", Hiccup asked Re.

Re was surprised. _"Why her?"_

"Because whenever she is around Raeya, no problems happened. I honestly think she is the only one Kassandra feels...safe...around."

_"Hmm. Raeya, would you mind watching over Kassandra to make sure she doesn't get into trouble?"_, Re asked as he turned to her.

Raeya was in the back minding her own business. She didn't know why, but she hoped nothing bad would happen to the human.

_"Raeya!"_

_"What?"_, Raeya asked, snapping out of her stupor.

_"Could you watch over Kassandra and make sure she doesn't get into trouble?"_, Re repeated.

'So that's her name', Raeya thought.

_"Yeah I can do that"_, Raeya nodded.

"Raeya is gonna watch over you and make sure you don't do anything you are not suppose to do", Hiccup asserted as he approached with Raeya at his side.

"Her?", Kassandra said dubiously.

"Yes. You can't escape a dragon. Once you prove yourself around here, she'll stop watching over you", Hiccup said.

"O-okay", Kassandra said, looking up at the dragon.

Little did she know, but meeting this dragon would change her life forever.


	10. Chapter 10

Chris groaned in pain. He sat up and looked around.

"Where am I?", he asked to no one in particular.

He looked around and saw that he was inside some weird building. He leaned forward to see around a few corners but didn't get far. It only ended with him groaning in soreness.

"Why am I sore?", he groaned.

"Am I?", Chris mumbled

"I? Who is that?", he thought.

Chris swung his legs off the bed he was on and looked at his feet. He wiggled his toes slowly. He looked up and felt a gentle breeze brush across his face.

With nothing else to do, he got up but only succeed in falling back down. He winced in pain as his head throbbed, simultaneously grabbing his head. His eyes shot wide open as he felt something unfamiliar.

He yanked at the cloth on his head and brought it before his eyes. His eyes looked at it with concern.

"What happened?"

He stood up again, but found his equilibrium this time. With each step forward he grew more confident and was soon able to stand without pain or loss of balance.

He looked down at what he was wearing and again was lost in puzzlement.

"What is happening?", Chris whispered to himself.

"Chris! You need to lie down!", a voice called out to him.

He snapped his head in the direction of the smooth voice and tilted his head in confusion at the sight of the brunette woman. She was unlike anything she had seen before.

She was a thin woman, yet she was very beautiful. She had shoulder-length golden brown hair, a young round face with emerald eyes, her skin was almost the same light golden brown as her hair. She wore a riding uniform which was a green turtleneck shirt and a blue riding jacket made of deerskin leather and matching trousers. On her feet were blue leather boots with shiny green embroidery around the top, and on her head was a wide-brimmed black hat that had a dragon's horns attached to it. Adorning her hands were black fingerless gloves.

The woman gave him a warm yet concerned look. A look unknown to Chris.

"Chris, you need to lie down. You hit your head pretty hard", Serenity reiterated.

"I hit my head?", Chris asked, skeptical.

"Yeah. You got tossed into a tree, and you need to lie down", Serenity responded.

"I did?"

"Yes you did Chris. What's the matter? Are you okay?", Serenity asked, worried.

After a long pause, Chris looked up at her. "Who are you? And who's Chris?"

The Draconians flew from the Mead Hall back down to Serenity's house, planning to check up on Chris.

_"What's the matter Re?"_, Aurora asked, noticing the expression on her mate's face.

_"Nothing much. I'm just wary of that human"_, Re responded.

_"Re, you have nothing to worry about. She is just one human"_, Tenor chimed in.

_"One human can go along way. Look at Chris, he influenced the tides of the Song War and won. Look at what he has accomplished",_ Re retorted.

_"I hope Chris is alright"_, Windwalker said out of nowhere. Her sudden appearance startled the other 3 Draconians.

_"Windwalker! When did you get here? Why did you stop watching Chris?"_, Re asked.

_"He was asleep and I don't expect him to wake up soon. Forgive me, but I decided to do a flight around the island to get my mind off of things"_, Windwalker said quietly.

_"Oh. Well that's alright then"_, Aurora smiled warmly.

_"...and besides, Chris is in good care. Serenity knows what she's doing. What else could happen?"_, Windwalker said, trying to sound happy.

_"Yes. Yes she does"_, Tenor grinned proudly.

_"Anyways, Kassandra is in no shape or form our son"_, Aurora voiced.

_"I know. That's what worries me"_, Re said.

They were interrupted from their conversation when they saw Serenity approaching Chris slowly with her hands splayed wide while the man in question was backing away from her slowly.

They all landed swiftly and approached behind Serenity.

_"Chris, what's wrong?"_, Re questioned, worried.

_"What are you doing out of bed?"_, Aurora asked, in a motherly tone

_"Oh my gosh Chris! You're okay!_",Windwalker beamed.

_"Are you feeling okay?"_, Tenor inquired.

Chris was bombarded by all those comments at once. He was overwhelmed not only by all the questions, but by the fact that those big, winged creatures could talk! They were unlike the strange woman before him.

"AAAAAHHHH!", Chris screamed, turning around and sprinting as fast as he could from those monsters.

The 5 Draconians were shocked. What had happened to Chris. It was Aurora who was the 1st to snap out of their stupor.

_"Chris, wait!"_, Aurora shouted before spreading her wings and flying after him.

Chris was scared. What was going on? He rounded a corner and shrieked when he came face with another monster. This one was sharp and had a big face. He ran to the left when it flared its wings and squawked at him.

He soon ended up in this big clearing, surrounded by people who looked big and hairy as well as those beasts.

"I'm surrounded by them!", Chris panicked.

His eyes focused on those 4 creatures he initially met as they all zoomed toward him.

He shrieked again as he hightailed it away from them.

_"I got him!"_, Tenor shouted. He crouched low and pounced on Chris. Unfortunately, at the last second Chris ran to his left, leaving Tenor to collide into the side of a house.

Tenor groaned as he hit his head against the dense wood and smashed through the wall.

Re growled in frustration. He didn't expect his son to be so fast for a human. He sped up as Chris rounded another corner and jumped on Chris, tumbling to the ground.

"Gotcha!", Re exclaimed, rolling as he held his son in his clutches

What Re didn't expect, was that their combined momentum rolled them into the forge. They collided heavily into the center of the forge.

"Oi! What's the big deal?!", Gobber shouted.

Re couldn't answer that as their crash caused a mold of molten rock to tip over and pour onto Re's armor. It quickly seeped into the cracks of his armor and coated his scales.

Re roared piercingly in pain. He quickly released Chris and jumped roughly out of the forge, removing his armor as quickly as he could. With the dragon distracted, Chris scrambled out of the forge and bolted away.

Aurora and Windwalker were about to catch up to Chris and Re when the latter of the duo burst out of the forge and wormed around painfully on the ground, roaring in agony.

_"Re!"_, Aurora called out once she realized there was molten rock on his body.

She immediately focused her magic on her mate, conjuring a spell that numbed the pain and transformed the molten rock's heat into thin air.

Aurora looked at her mate in horror. Re's face was scrunched up in pain. The molten rock consumed his scales and scorched the skin underneath, leaving nasty burn marks all along his body. His armor was just dangling off his body.

_"Go get him"_, Aurora said quietly to Windwalker.

Windwalker dashed around the king, praying to Lord Draco that he would be fine.

Chris was out of breathe but he still kept running. He wouldn't stop until he was somewhere safe. He ran past a big building with giant stairs leading up to it. He looked up and saw more people coming down those stairs, flanked by more monsters! They all gazed at him weirdly and pointed at him.

Hiccup and the gang, now accompanied by Raeya and Kassandra, were walking down the steps of the Mead Hall. They were going to show Raeya around. That is, until they stopped in their tracks at the sight of Chris running for his life.

_"Someone stop him!"_, Windwalker shouted.

Toothless acted quickly. He crouched low and sprang high into the air. Snapping his wings open, he glided to Chris swiftly. He then angled himself down and closed his wings around himself, dive bombing Chris.

When Chris turned around and saw the black beast closing in on him, he was too late to do anything as he was caught in his paws.

Toothless rolled once before pinning Chris down to the ground. The human was screaming uncontrollably. Toothless could even see tears forming. He had to calm him down, so he roared loudly in his face, much like he did to Hiccup the first time they met.

Chris clenched his eyes shut as he felt the force of the roar hit him in the face. What was going on? Why wouldn't this beast get off of him? He hoped it didn't kill him. But before he could even pursue more questions, he quickly got light headed, went limp, and blacked out.

Windwalker arrived soon after. _"Why did you do that?"_, she asked as Toothless got off of him.

_"He wouldn't stop struggling. He seemed really scared, so I figured he would black out if I roared really loudly in his face like I did to Hiccup when I first met him. And it worked"_, Toothless explained.

Windwalker sighed and looked down at her rider.

_"What's the matter? Why is he acting like this?"_, Toothless questioned.

_"I honestly don't know Toothless. I don't know what's wrong with him"_, Windwalker breathed out.

Worry racked her mind. Worry about her mate, her King, and now her rider. What else could go wrong?


	11. Chapter 11

By the time Chris woke up, he was back in the same bed in the same building. He groaned as he got up and opened his eyes groggily.

"What happened?", Chris asked to no one in particular.

_"You lost your mind, that's what happened"_, Windwalker stated.

His head snapped in the direction of the unknown voice and gasped when he saw it belonged to that black beast who was chasing him.

He scrambled against the wall of the bed, eyes darting to find a way out. Sadly, he was surrounded on all sides by many beasts and people like him.

"Please don't kill me!", Chris shouted.

Noticing his son's distress, Re painfully staggered forward, still sore from the molten rock and covered in bandages.

_"Son, calm down. You hit-"_

"Son? I'm your son?", Chris asked dubiously. Shocked that he was the son of that...thing.

_"Yes you're my son. You hit-"_

"How am I your son?", Chris pressed.

_"You're adopted. Anyways like-"_

"Oh okay. I'm not your real son then. Good", Chris sighed, relieved.

Re was hurt by his son's comment. _"You are my real son. My blood flows through your veins. I gave you half of my heart"_, Re voiced.

"You did? No way you did that", Chris said as he shifted against the wall. His eyes still darted around, unsure what these people were going to do to him.

_"It is the truth Chris"_, Aurora chimed in.

"Who are you?", Chris asked, turning to face the blue dragon.

_"I am Aurora, you're mother", _Aurora explained.

"Who are they?", Chris asked, pointing to the rest of the group.

_"Before we get to that. Answer me this: who are you?"_, Aurora inquired.

Chris opened his mouth to answer but fell silent. He looked down in thought for awhile before he looked back up at the group staring before him.

"I...I don't know", Chris replied, puzzled.

_"So it is true"_, Re sighed.

"What? What's wrong with him?", Eret asked.

"He has amnesia", Serenity said, appearing before the group.

Everybody turned to her when she spoke, not noticing her before.

"What's that?", Tuffnut asked.

"Yeah what is that?", Chris repeated.

"It means you partially loss or totally lose all of your memory. You don't remember who you once were. Who you still are", Serenity said solemnly.

"Wait wait wait. So you're saying, Chris doesn't know who he is anymore?", Ruffnut asked incredulously.

"Yeah. It happens when you hit your head long enough, like you did Chris", Serenity replied.

Ruffnut got a twinkle in her eye and smirked evilly. She quickly grabbed Tuffnut and Snotlout by their helmets and dragged them outside.

"What was that about?", Astrid asked.

"I honestly don't even know anymore", Hiccup sighed.

"So I lost my memory?", Chris questioned.

"Yes."

"What do you remember?", Hiccup pressed.

Chris looked down in thought. "Well, I remember is waking up in this bed with a throbbing pain in my head."

"That's it?", Astrid voiced.

Chris nodded slowly.

_"So what are we going to do with Chris?"_, Tenor exhaled.

"Who's Chris?", Chris asked.

_"You are Chris. That is your name"_, Re responded.

"I don't like it. It sounds weird", Chris complained.

_"Well too bad. That is your name. It is the name we gave you and that will be your name until you die"_, Re snorted, stepping forward a bit.

Chris immediately scurried back. That caused Re to halt.

_"Chris, I'm not going to hurt you. Nor will I ever do so in the future"_, Re said softly.

"How do I know that? You have sharp claws and teeth and big wings. You are some type of...beast. I don't know what you are capable of. I don't know what any of you all are capable of", Chris said timidly.

That comment hurt Re a little.

"Chris. You will be fine. Nobody is going to hurt you", Valka spoke up as she stepped forward.

Chris looked at her curiously before looking at the others.

_"It is true. We are family Chris"_, Aurora commented. She too stepped forward, but stopped when Chris pulled back.

_"Why do you flinch away from me?", _Aurora asked, tilting her head.

"Well...it-it's just, how can we be family if we are so different. This one with long brown hair is similar to me, yet you, some beast who has scales, a long neck, sharp claws, big teeth is claiming to be my mother. How can you be my mother? And how can he be my father?", Chris asked doubtfully.

"Family may start in blood, but it sure doesn't end in it, Chris. Give them a chance. When you take away all the wings and scales and they have a soul, just like you, me, and all the other creatures in this world", Valka said.

"But what if-"

"If it fear of the what they could do to you, then you should fear what I could do. Even if I may look like you, you don't know what I am capable of doing. You don't know what a single person in this room is capable of doing. Don't judge someone based on what they look like. Looks can be very deceiving", Valka described.

Chris was silent as his eyes scanned the room.

"Give them a chance, Chris. They are good people. I know it's a lot to take in but give them a chance", Valka said softly.

His eyes finally landed on his family, who in turn were returning the gesture.

"Yeah. You're right. Sorry, it's just a lot to wrap my head around. All I ask is that don't expect me to adjust so quickly", Chris sighed as he got up.

_"It's fine Chris. We understand. We will do our best", _Windwalker nodded.

It had been a week since Chris lost his memory. Everyday he was learning more and more about himself, his family, his friends, and his surroundings. And everyday, he grew less afraid of the beasts he learned to call dragons.

It all still seemed like a bizarre story to him, especially about how Re shared his heart with him and can now feel whatever his father feels. One could only imagine his confusion when learned that he and Hiccup were chosen as Sol's champion to fight in the Tournament of the Gods in a couple of months.

When all that was happening, the dragon hatchlings continue to play and frolic without a care in the world. They knew what happened to Chris but were assured by their parents that everything would be fine.

Currently, they were playing Hide-and-Hunt with Edelweiss and Eider. Eider was purple whippertail-blackfang hybrid. His parents died when he was young but Serenity's guardian dragon and his mate Aurora took him in as one of their own. They decided to swing by for a visit when they heard Chris lost his memory. They would've asked Hagen to play but he was still too young to do much of everything besides giving Astrid and Hiccup grey hairs.

Apollo was looking around suspiciously. Him and his friends were out in the woods so Apollo had to look everywhere to find them.

He snorted in annoyance. It had been about 15 minutes and he still couldn't find one of them! He couldn't use his nose to pick up on their scents, as that was one of the rules. He had to rely on only his eyes and ears.

He was about to give up when out of the corner of his eye he saw something shift. He slowly turned his head around and focused his eyes on the forest before him.

All he saw was green. Different shades of green mixed with hints of brown here and there. A graceful wind blew across the forest and all the leaves and trees swayed gently to the right. However, Apollo noticed that one particular branch stayed immobile. In fact, it seemed to have swayed the other way. He was perplexed by this until he remembered who in his family had dark green scales.

He crouched low and pounced high. His hunch was affirmed when he came into contact with his sister who let out a surprised yelp. They both landed on the ground with Avalon under Apollo.

_"Ha! I found you!"_, Apollo cheered.

_"Whatever! Get off of me!"_, Avalon hissed.

Apollo got off his sister and began searching for the other 3, hope reenergizing his spirit. Avalon, being caught, had no other choice but to follow her brother in his quest to find the others. She scowled all the way over there, angry that she was found out. Now she had to help him find the others.

After a couple of minutes he found Black Widow and Eider in a cave and under a bush respectively. All that was left was Edelweiss.

_"Edel! Come out, come out where you are!", _Apollo sang.

They looked everywhere and they still couldn't find her. They were all surprised that she was the last to be found. Usually they would find her first since she was a human. This wouldn't have bothered them, except that the sun was almost setting.

_"Oh where is she?", _Black Widow asked, worried.

_"I'm sure she is fine Black Widow. We will find her", _Avalon reassured.

_"I hope so. It's getting close to dark now", _Eider added.

_"I'm not gonna risk getting yelled at by my parents for this", _Apollo decided, _"Everybody track her down by her scent."_

After about 30 minutes of sniffing and searching, they eventually wound up back at the village. By then, the sun was 3/4 of the way set. It was quieter than usual–most of the Vikings and Dragons were preparing to go to were surprised, as well as scared, wondering what would happen if their parents found them returning without Edelweiss.

_"Oh man, I hope mother doesn't find out we couldn't find Edelweiss", _Black Widow said timidly.

_"You what?", _Toothless asked.

The dragonets froze in fear and slowly turned around. They immediately met the harsh gaze of the Night Fury alpha.

_"Did I just hear that you lost my Serenity and Chris' daughter?", _Toothless asked apprehensively.

_"Toothless wait! We can explain!", _Apollo pleaded.

_"You most certainly will explain. Especially to your parents. Now march!", _Toothless hissed.

The dragonets hung their heads in shame and trudged up the hill to the hospital. When they got there, the rest of the Draconians stopped their conversation to regard Toothless and their children.

_"What's this?", _Re asked.

_"I think it would be best to have the children explain it themselves", _Toothless stated.

The Draconians all looked toward the children, waiting for an answer.

Apollo hesitantly stepped forward. _"We were playing Hide-and-Hunt all day and on our last game...we lost Edelweiss", _Apollo murmured.

_"We didn't mean to! Honest! We followed her scent back to Berk so she can't be too far away!", _Eider interjected.

_"I can summon Skullcrusher right now", _Toothless commented.

_"Oh, there is no need, but thank you Toothless. We do not need to search for her"_, Re smiled.

Toothless and the dragonets stared at the king in disbelief.

_"What do you mean we don't need to search for her?"_, Black Widow asked.

The Draconians all smiled at each other before Aurora unfurled her wings to reveal Edelweiss.

"Surprise!", Edelweiss beamed.

The 5 dragons were taken aback by this.

_"Edel, where were you? We were worried about you!", _Black Widow asked, running up to her rider and nuzzling her.

"I was right here all along", Edelweiss replied.

_"What do you mean?"_, Avalon asked.

"This is where I've been hiding! When the game started I found my way back here and hid here. It's actually not that far from here. I figured you would've found me sooner but you didn't! They all asked why I was here and not with you guys, so I told them I was playing Hide-and-hunt. They promised me they wouldn't tell you guys. So I took a nap, ate some apples, and took another nap. And here you guys are!", Edelweiss explained.

_"Hey that's not fair! You cheated!"_, Eider exclaimed.

"How did I cheat?"

_"Yeah, you weren't suppose to come back. We were playing in the woods, not Berk!",_ Apollo whined.

_"Did you set a boundary line? Any place off-limits?", _Tenor asked.

_"No, but-"_

_"So then how did she cheat if you all didn't set any place that was off limits?"_

_"Well..."_

_"You just didn't expect to find her here in Berk", _Tenor deduced.

_"Well yeah, she's a human. She can't get far", _Eider voiced.

_"You are right, she can't. However, you didn't expect her to be in Berk. She hid right under your noses, somewhere you would least expect her to be. Don't underestimate a human. They can be really cunning and smart, like Edel is", _Aurora said.

When she heard her grandma praise her, Edelweiss blushed.

"Anyways, it's time to turn in", Re declared.

The dragonets all vocalized their disappointment.

_"But dad...", _Avalon sighed.

_"Not buts little one. It's best to be well rested than tired the next morning",_ Re said.

With little else to do the dragonets all laid down besides their parents and prepared to go to sleep. Toothless returned down the hill, noting that he too was getting tired.

Elsewhere on another island, 3 Night Furies landed on an island far from Berk. 2 of them were about 1/2 a size bigger than Toothless, Raeya, or Windwalker, signifying their adulthood. One of the 2 was slightly thinner than the other, making her a female. The last one was smaller but slightly bigger than the 3 Night Furies on Berk. They all had green eyes and were searching for a particular dragon.

_"How much further?", _Rhyax complained.

_"You have just as good a nose as I. Your sister is less than a day away", _Sylerion answered.

_"Yes, my sister. The one who decided to get caught in a storm and postpone our plans to rob the royal family", _Rhyax exhaled, rolling his eyes as he did so. "_How do you know she isn't running away again?"_

_"Don't speak ill of your sister. I'm sure she has a logical explanation as to why she hasn't made an attempt to find us", _Moonfyre hissed.

_"Your mother is right. She wouldn't do that to us. We are family. Always have and always will be, no matter what anyone says", _Sylerion stated. He sniffed the air once more to ensure he hadn't lost his daughter's scent.

_"Anyways, we should rest here for the night. We flew all day and all night. We could use the rest", _Moonfyre decided as she plopped down.

_"As you wish mother", _Rhyax sighed as he settled down as well.

Sylerion looked down at his mate and son, noticing that they weren't going to change their minds. With a snort, he lied down beside Moonfyre and within a couple of minutes he dozed off along with the rest of his family.


	12. Chapter 12

Raeya hardly expected for this to happen. She couldn't believe that they were doing this.

_"Does stuff like this always happen?"_, Raeya asked Barf and Belch.

_"Usually. I mean we can't stop them"_, Barf replied.

_"And it's amusing"_, Belch chuckled.

Currently, the Twins and Kassandra were slicking the porches of houses with fish oil. Kassandra was suppose to be restocking the feeding trays with the twins but they all finished early. So what better way to spend their time than to watch the misery of others?

"Do we do this every time we finish restocking the feeding trays?", Kassandra questioned.

"No. We like to keep things fresh", Tuffnut replied.

"If we do the same pranks over and over again, then it wouldn't be fun. We try to have a diverse array of tricks!", Ruffnut smirked evilly.

She stared at the two with disbelief before shrugging in defeat. It's not like she had nothing else better to do. But she really didn't want to get kicked off this island. Then again, if they didn't get caught, nothing bad would happen to her.

"Okay that's the last of it!", Tuffnut whispered roughly as he ducked behind a feeding trough where Ruffnut and Raeya were patiently waiting.

Their lucky victim today was silent Sven. Well, he wasn't so silent anymore but it's not like they cared.

The Twins waited in excitement while Kassandra waited in curiosity.

_"What now?"_

_"Now we wait and watch our riders get humiliated"_, Barf responded.

They waited for about 2 minutes before the door swung open. Silent Sven, in his not-so-silent glory, was planning to take his dull axe to Gobber to get it sharpened.

Like any typical Viking that the Twins pranked, he was unaware. He took a step onto his porch and immediately yelled in surprise as he lost his footing.

The Twins turned with their backs against the trough, laughing to their heart's content while Kassandra reluctantly smiled. She had to admit, it was fun doing these jokes. I mean, sure they were bad, but she never had this type of freedom back home. She couldn't get enough of it.

However, while they were occupied with their amusement they didn't notice the axe slipping out of Sven's hand, flying all the way to a stack of barrels. The axe severed the rope binding the barrels all together, which caused them to cascade down the hill and toward the feeding trough.

A few moments later the barrels slammed into the trough, spilling the sloppy food all over them. To make matters worse, the barrels continued to careen over them, meaning they had to deal with the barrels trampling over their heads, neck, and back.

After a the last barrel ran over them, the trio could do nothing but groan in pain. The dragons on the other hand roared in pain, finding their riders' misfortune amusing.

Kassandra glanced up as she felt a slight throbbing pain in her head. She saw the dragons chortling, rumbling deeply while the Twins were still recovering.

She huffed, when suddenly a dark idea consumed her mind.

Raeya and Barf &amp; Belch were too busy laughing when all of a sudden they were smack in the face with something horrid.

They growled in disgust as they shook their heads vigorously, trying their best to get rid of the muck. They only succeeded in getting it out of their eyes and what they saw shocked them.

It was Raeya with the grime from the trough in her hands. She had an evil grin on her face as she started cackling.

"Not so funny now is it dragons?", Kassandra said in between chuckles.

Her laughter died off awkwardly as the sound of low growling grew loudly. She stopped and regarded the dragons with a mixture of fear and concern.

"Oh you done it now", Tuffnut mumbled.

"What?"

"It's like one of the rules of dragon training: never piss off a dragon", Ruffnut squeaked.

One moment there was nothing but absolute silence. The next was filled with the screams of the 3 humans as they were being chased down by their dragons.

Hiccup slowly made his way into his house, groaning after dealing with several disputes between Viking and dragon.

He opened his door to the smell of cooked fish. He looked around and saw Astrid cooking.

Astrid cooking...

"Astrid..." Hiccup stated cautiously, unsure what to make of this.

"Oh, hey Hiccup", Astrid called out.

Hiccup approached his wife warily and gazed down at the fish. He noticed it was slightly burnt.

"What are you doing?", Hiccup questioned.

"I'm cooking, what does it look like I'm doing."

"Where's Hagen?"

"Asleep in his crib. Usually he is fussing at this hour but I managed to get him to go to sleep", Astrid replied.

"Why are you cooking?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"Well, we usually eat at the Mead Hall, since we both aren't the best cooks", Hiccup answered.

"Well you're a man. It's not your place to cook", Astrid said with a hint of anger.

"Not my place?"

"Yes Hiccup. I'm the wife, and it is my job as a wife to take care of the house and it's got job to take care of everything else", Astrid stated, starting to cry.

"Hey hey hey! What's the matter!"

"Nothing's the matter!", Astrid snapped, forgetting about the fish.

Hiccup was taken aback. He had never seen this side of Astrid before. Sure, maybe when she was pregnant, but he was positive she wasn't. He would know; they hadn't done that in awhile.

"Astrid, tell me what's wrong!"

"You wouldn't understand", Astrid sobbed.

"What wouldn't I understand?"

"Just forget about it Hiccup. This is my fault."

"Astrid, are you telling me the talking fishbone who defeated the Red Death, and stopped Drago from his reign of terror wouldn't understand?"

"Don't talk about yourself like that. You aren't a talking fishbone anymore." Astrid mumbled.

"Then you stop talking about how it's your fault. Astrid, why don't you tell me what's going on?", Hiccup asked.

"Me! I'm what's wrong!"

When Hiccup didn't respond, Astrid continued.

"I have tried so hard to be your wife, and I have failed every time. I can't cook or clean to save my life. I've talked to all the wives of Berk and I've tried all the advice they'd given me. I tried so hard to cook, to clean. I can barely take care of Hagen..." Tears were flowing down Astrid's cheeks at this point.

"I can fight and defend this village. I can tame dragons. I ride a dragon. I have done basically the impossible, yet I can't do the simplest of things", Astrid asserted as she sat down in a nearby bench. "What's wrong with me?"

Astrid was forced to look up when Hiccup grasped one of her hands and lifted her chin with the other.

"There is nothing wrong with your Astrid", Hiccup stated.

"Yes there is. I can be many things, so many things, but be a good wife", Astrid said glumly.

"Astrid, all you have ever done is been a good wife with me."

"How? How have I been a good wife?"

"Well for starters you put up with me", Hiccup started as he moved to sit down next to her. "You actually listen to me when I talk and spew my crazy ideas about how to improve the lives of both Viking and dragon."

"You also did something you've never were really comfortable with: become a housewife. You hate cooking, cleaning, and anything like that. Yet, you did it for my our benefit. Well, you tried to do it. If I asked that Astrid 5 years ago to do that, she would've heaved an axe at me."

"And I wouldn't have missed", Astrid smiled sadly.

"And perhaps the most important to me: you gave birth to Hagen. You became a mother. When Hagen was born, you've made me the most happiest man in the Archipelago. Never in a thousand years would I have thought Astrid the shieldmaiden would become a mother", Hiccup said calmly with a hint of affection.

"I never would've. Not for anybody else. Only you."

"And why only me?"

Astrid was shocked at Hiccup's question. "Because you're my husband and I love you. Your happiness means a lot to me."

"And your happiness means a lot to me. And if you're unhappy with things, nothing is stopping us from changing that."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, we can't change you being Astrid the mother like I can't change being Hiccup the chief. But what we can do is find a balance. You can still be Astrid the shieldmaiden. You just have to find a balance between the two. Just like I'm trying to balance out Hiccup the dragon rider with Hiccup the chief."

"So..."

"I'm saying that I can take care of Hagen, Astrid. It will help ease the stress", Hiccup declared.

"What?! No, you're a chief and you have enough problems as it is-"

"A chief does what is good for his people, and I've done more than enough for this village. Ever since you gave birth to our beautiful son, I've become Hiccup the father, and I can't thank you enough for that. So they shouldn't have a problem with me taking a little time off here and there to be with my son. It's not like I saved their lives, twice", Hiccup explained, adding the last part with sarcasm.

"Besides, I'll have to make more time if we have more little ones on the way", Hiccup smirked.

Astrid looked at Hiccup fondly. Hiccup returned it with just as much affection and leaned in to kiss her.

He didn't expect for pain to shoot up his right shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"That's for hinting at something that may not happen!" Astrid then grabbed Hiccup by his shirt and kissed him passionately on the lips.

Hiccup could do nothing as he was flooded with Astrid's love.

"And that's for everything else", Astrid stated when she pulled back.

Hiccup could only nod and huff, still recovering from the kiss. Astrid then pulled him in for a hug.

"You're the best. You know that?"

"I hope I am", Hiccup whispered under his breathe.

Before Astrid could respond, a loud roar echoed in the distance. They both sighed as they pulled away from each other.

"Duty calls", Hiccup sighed as he gave Astrid a sweet kiss before walking out the door.

Toothless climbed wearily onto the roof of Hiccup's house. As much as he loved flying, he liked being perched atop of his rider's house, which overlooked the entire village except for Gothi's hut.

He was honestly tired. He didn't know being an alpha was so exhausting. Not to mention that he also had to help out Hiccup and his problems.

He realized that Vikings and dragons are really similar in a lot of ways: they are stubborn, hungry, and almost always shout when they speak. Speaking of dragons...

He looked around until his eyes zoned in on Raeya. He watched her chatting with Barf &amp; Belch. He sighed happily, thinking of Raeya.

His eyes widened as he realized he was thinking of Raeya. The way her sleek scales glistened under the moonlight. The way her smooth voice sang melodies to his ears. The way she had a shy, calm demeanor, unlike every other dragon he has met. And her eyes. Oh how they were unique as her.

Toothless shook his head vigorously.

_"I just met her."_

_"So? She's a female, you're a male. Does anything else have to be explained?"_, another side of him countered.

_"I can't just go up to her and say 'Oh hey Raeya. We both need to do what's best for our species, so let's be mates! You wouldn't want the Night Fury population to die out now, would you?'." _

_"Well, just bring her a fish and show her that you are a strong male. That's more than enough to convey to her that you are a capable male."_

_"It's not the simple anymore. It's not like in the earlier ages of dragonkind where all you had to was bring a female a fish, fight off any other suitors, and boom you have a mate",_ he explained.

_"Some dragons still do that. We both know that. We also know that no female would ever mate with a weak male. It's a given"_, the other side shot back.

_"I am weak. I'm crippled. I can't go anywhere without Hiccup"_

_"Then perhaps it's time you make a choice."_

_"What in Draco's name are you saying?"_, the first side growled.

_"You know exactly what I'm saying. You are going to have to prove your strength, one way or another."_

Toothless snarled and shook his head in negation.

_"It will never come to that"_, Toothless promised himself.

However, with the events soon to unfold, it looks like Toothless may have to break that promise.


	13. Chapter 13

Another day had past and still Chris could not remember anything of his past. When asked, nothing could come to him. They were always given the same answer.

The Draconians were currently sitting up on the hill of Serenity's hospital. There were many clouds blocking the rays of sunlight, so there was no reason to find shade. Serenity sat in a chair, forming a circle with the rest of her family. Apollo and Avalon were nestled in the grass alongside their parents while Black Widow was snuggled up against her rider Edelweiss, both currently sleeping.

_"What are we going to do about him?", _Windwalker groaned.

_"What do you mean?", _Re asked.

_"What if he never remembers? What if he doesn't want to be apart of this family?", _she answered.

_"Don't say that! He will remember. We might not know how long, but he will eventually", _Aurora chided.

_"Hopefully. I'd hate to see him leave, again"_, Tenor commented.

They all murmured in agreement, remembering the day when Chris decided to leave them to see his birth parents. It was a dark time in their lives but eventually, that time came to past. Chris realized that they were just using him to get to his wife, Serenity. He died because of them; he got shot in the heart with an arrow, which was aimed at his wife. He would've died too if it weren't for Re intervening and sharing half his heart with his son. And that's why when whenever Chris gets hurt, Re would feel it and vice versa. However, Chris doesn't remember any of that.

_"Where is brother by the way?", _Apollo asked.

_"I...I don't know. Wasn't he with you Serenity?", _Re asked.

"No. He said something about doing something with Snotlout", Serenity replied.

_"Oh great!"_, Windwalker said sarcastically as she got up.

_"Let's go see what this is about", _Windwalker stated as she nodded her head to Tenor to come with.

The Prime Minister and Captain of the Guard both trotted down the hill, searching for the latter's rider.

The walked throughout the village, looking for the human. They eventually found Hiccup and Toothless down by the forge.

"Oh hey you too. What brings you two down here?", Hiccup genuinely asked as he scratched behind Windwalker's ears, making her shudder in pleasure.

_"We are trying to find Chris. Do you know where he is?", _Tenor asked for Windwalker since she couldn't speak Norse.

"I honestly don't know. Last I remember, he was following...Snotlout", Hiccup groaned as he pieced it together.

_"Do you know where they are?"_

"Usually they are at the Academy", Hiccup responded, "Let's check there"

They soon arrived at the Academy to find Snotlout, the Twins, and their dragons, casually lounging in the center of the arena.

"Snotlout, where's Chris?", Hiccup asked.

"What? Oh Chris? I don't know. Shouldn't he be with Serenity?", Snotlout brushed off.

"Yeah, it's not like we're bossing him around and making him down all our chores or anything", Tuffnut chuckled.

Snotlout groaned in disappointment as Ruffnut jabbed her brother right in his gut.

_"This little prank of yours needs to stop now"_, Tenor growled.

"It's not a prank. We aren't doing anything wrong. We are just asking for help doing our strenuous tasks that our oh wise chief has given us", Ruffnut stated as she got on her knees and started to praise Hiccup.

"Will you get up Ruff?", Hiccup sighed as he pinched the bridge if his nose.

_"Seriously, where is he?"_, Tenor translated for Windwalker.

To answer her question, Chris walked in covered in mud and feathers. He huffed as he approached Snotlout and the Twins.

"Mighty Snotlout and Fearsome Twins, I have rallied the chickens into their coop", Chris panted as he bowed submissively.

"What?"

"What else shall you all have me do today?", Chris asked.

"Well, we-"

_"You're not doing anything!"_, Tenor growled, getting in Snotlout's face.

He was about to say more when Chris stepped up.

_"What are you doing to my masters!"_, Chris exclaimed.

"Snotlout and the Twins are not your masters. They never were and never will be", Hiccup explained.

"What do you mean?", Chris questioned.

_"They took advantage of you, Chris. They thought it would be funny to make you into something you're not"_, Tenor said, giving the 3 a hard look.

Chris turned to the 3 and gave them a sad look.

"Is this true?"

They couldn't answer as Windwalker approached them, snarling. They gave the female Night Fury uneasy looks, nervously backing away.

_"If you don't get your riders out of my sight, I will personally make them my practice targets"_, Windwalker growled.

_"Why are you getting mad at as for?"_, Hookfang shot back.

_"Because you 3 did nothing as your riders took advantage of my best friend, even though you knew it was wrong"_

_"We didn't know! Honest! He just came up with our riders and started working. We didn't think much of it", _Barf responded.

_"It's true, Windwalker!", _Belch added.

_"That still won't change the fact that we will have roasted human in about 20 seconds", _Windwalker seethed.

The Zippleback and Nightmare looked at each other before scooping up their riders in their jaws and flying off.

"I'm so confused", Chris groaned.

"Don't worry. This won't happen again", Hiccup promised.

_"Let's hope not", _Tenor sighed.

Windwalker nuzzled her rider in the shoulder. However, Chris flinched away. Windwalker pulled back with a saddened face.

"I'm sorry. I'm still getting used to apparently knowing dragons for my whole life and having one of the deadliest being my best friend", Chris said sheepishly.

_"It's fine. I don't expect you to just remember all of a sudden"_

"If I remember", Chris said sullenly.

_"You will Chris. You will"_

With that settled, they all went back up to the hill.

_"So Toothless, where's Raeya?"_, Windwalker asked.

_"Oh um, she went out fishing. I would've gone with but you know, I can't"_, Toothless explained as he fanned his tailfin for her to see.

_"Do you know when her family is arriving?"_

_"No...no I don't"_, Toothless remarked, a bit sad.

_"Don't worry, she won't leave"_, Windwalker reassured.

_"And how could you possibly know that?"_, Toothless said unexpectedly bitter.

_"I just do"_

_"Windwalker, it is not possible to know that"_, Tenor butted in.

_"I wouldn't expect you males to understand. It's a female thing"_, Windwalker replied.

"What are you guys talking about?", Hiccup asked.

"They're talking about the situation concerning Toothless' girlfriend", Chris blatantly explained.

All 2 1/2 Night Furies looked at Chris wide-eyed, especially Toothless.

_"She's not my girlfriend!"_, Toothless nearly shouted.

Windwalker could only laugh while Tenor pinned his ears back, feeling bad for Toothless, although he couldn't hide his snicker.

"Toothless? Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?", Hiccup exclaimed.

_"I don't! Raeya isn't my mate!", _Toothless blushed while snarling, remembering a certain incident that happened an hour ago.

When they continued laughing, he roughly swiped his tail under the 2 humans, making them fall to the ground heavily.

Their amusement was soon interrupted by the roar of a Night Fury fill the skies. That roar was soon joined by 3 others.

They all looked up and were shocked to see Raeya and 3 others land at the top of the hill where the Draconians were residing.

Raeya sighed, looking out at the vast ocean. She certainly did what she planned to do, which was to fish, but she had something else on her mind.

Specifically, 3 things bothered her: how she was gonna explain this to the King and Queen, how she was gonna set up her family to be caught, and Toothless.

The 1st two were intertwined together so as long as she somehow brought her family and the royal dragons to the cove, it should work itself out. However, the incident with Toothless took up most of her mind.

She was just relaxing, minding her own business as Barf &amp; Belch left to do something. That somehow led to her being near Toothless by the forge as he was watching Hiccup in the forge. That, in turn, led to a small explosion, which caused her and the alpha to duck down. They slid forward until they both bumped into something soft.

They opened their eyes and quickly froze, stunned that their noses where touching. Raeya pulled back first, scared at how intimate she just unintentionally got with Toothless. She was only relieved that it happened near the side of the forge, where no one saw the incident.

She then quickly rushed off, claiming she was sorry and hungry, planning to go fishing. Within a blink of an eye, she was in the air and 400 yards away from Berk.

She didn't know what to do. She couldn't tell anybody. She had no one to turn to. Well, there was Kassandra, but they couldn't understand each other. Raeya groaned when she realized she was suppose to look over her when she was currently out to get fish.

Her worries were interrupted when her animal instincts flared and barrel rolled to the left, narrowly missing getting hit with a plasma blast. She flapped hard, trying to escape.

More plasma blasts were thrown her way and she weaved around them effortlessly. She would normally be scared and wonder who was trying to attack her, but she already knew who it was.

She flew through a batch of clouds and swirled around them into she flew out in a random direction. She emerged under the cloud line, looking around and heaving a sigh of relief when nothing came her way.

She roared out in surprise when a heavy weight dropped on her back. She tried to fly away but could nothing but tumble on the air as her wings were pinned. She could only look down as they were rapidly approaching a sea stack.

She slowed down greatly as a foreign pair of wings snapped open, catching the wind. She was then pinned to the ground when they got low enough.

_"Not bad flying, although you'll still never be able to outfly me"_, Rhyax sneered.

_"Get off of me you sack of scales!"_, Raeya hissed.

_"I'm good. Thanks for asking"_, Rhyax said indignantly.

_"Get off of your sister Rhyax_", Moonfyre groaned as she and Sylerion landed.

Rhyax got off with a chuckle, looking at his parents while Raeya shook herself.

_"Hello mother, father"_

_"Raeya? How you been?", _Moonfyre inquired.

_"I hope you didn't get injured when the storm hit"_, Moonfyre continued.

_"Oh yes. The storm that coincidentally occurred right before we were about to rob the royal family"_, Rhyax said with a hint of malice.

_"What are you implying Rhyax?"_, Raeya growled.

_"You know damn well what I'm trying to get at. Trying to run away, again!"_, Rhyax seethed.

_"Rhyax! Stop accusing your sister of false things!"_, Moonfyre exclaimed.

_"If I ran away, I would've been long gone by now. And besides, I actually already put the plan into motion"_, Raeya sneered back.

_"What do you mean 'set the plan into motion'?"_, Rhyax asked.

_"It means I already got to the King and Queen already."_

_"This is typical Raeya. Planning on taking all the riches for yourself then?"_

_"No. It's called getting their trust so they don't suspect a thing, you idiot. I wouldn't expect you to understand. Your little brain probably couldn't process why I did it."_

_"Why you little-"_

_"SHUT IT!",_ Sylerion snarled.

This instantly quieted his two children.

_"You two are fully grown yet you still bicker like hatchlings", _Sylerion sighed, _"Now please explain to us what you mean by setting the plan into motion."_

Raeya then went on to explain what happened the first night she was there, how she met Toothless and his Viking companions as well as the Draconians, leaving out the fact that she took Windwalker's crown.

_"They aligned themselves with humans?!"_, Moonfyre gasped, _"What is this world coming to?"_

_"Trust me mother, I was shocked too. However, and I can't believe I'm saying this but, this humans are nice to dragons. They are not trying to trick us, or kill us or whatever."_

_"You're saying all humans are like this?", _Sylerion pressed.

_"I can't say all humans, but I know for sure these humans are like this. All I can say is for you to see it for yourself."_

Sylerion looked down in thought. _"Well, let's not keep the royal ones waiting. We'll go over to this Berk and introduce ourselves, saying we're planning to stay for a day or two to rest our wings. Then at night when no one else is awake, we'll converge and discuss more about our heist. Got it?"_

They all nodded in agreement before taking to the skies once more, anxious for their plan to fall into action. All were nervous. 3 of them were nervous that they would pull off their heist scotch free while a certain Night Fury frantically tried to improvise a way to reveal her family's plans to the Draconians, hoping it wouldn't fall apart.


	14. Chapter 14

_"Well this is a sight to behold"_, Re stated as he and his family stared up at Raeya and 3 other Night Furies as they landed a couple of yards away from them.

_"I notice Raeya, but who are the others?"_, Aurora asked.

_"Perhaps it is her family."_

The King and Queen looked at each other as they stood up and approached the group of Night Furies.

When Raeya noticed them, she approached and bowed slightly, her family following suit.

_"Good evening your majesties"_, Raeya greeted.

_"Good evening to you all. Who are these dragons?"_, Re asked.

_"They are my family. My father is called Sylerion. My mother is Moonfyre, and the last Night Fury is my brother, Rhyax"_, Raeya introduced.

_"I suspected these Night Furies were your family. It is pleasure to meet you all. My name is Re and this is my mate, Queen Aurora"_, Re responded.

_"Oh the pleasure's all ours. We never thought we would ever meet the King and Queen of our homeland"_, Sylerion said, "_But we understand that you are always busy, running the kingdom and such"_

_"Oh we aren't usually busy. In fact we like to enjoy our leisure time, and we usually spend it here on our allies' homeland called Berk", _Re explained.

_"Yes, Raeya has told us that you are allied with...humans. Why them?", _Moonfyre asked.

_"These humans have made peace with our kind. They do not kill dragons and we do not kill them", _Aurora spoke up.

_"So no problems have come up because of this alliance?", _Moonfyre pressed.

_"Well nothing is perfect. There will always be problems, big or small. These Vikings, as they're called, are no exception. But for the most part, having them as allies has been beneficial",_ Re commented.

Serenity, having slept in, woke up and walked out of her house, and was surprised to see 4 Night Furies standing before her.

All Night Furies except Raeya tensed. They didn't expect to see a human so close to them and not afraid.

_"There is no need to be afraid. This is Serenity, Draconia's Dragon Healer"_, Re asserted.

"Hello to you all. It is nice to finally meet Raeya's family", Serenity greeted. As usual, the Night Furies were surprised that she could speak their language, minus Raeya.

_"You speak our language?!"_, Rhyax blurted out.

"Of course I do. I was raised by dragons."

_"She was raised by her guardian dragon, Ruby. She is also my daughter-in-law"_, Re continued.

The 3 Night Furies' jaws dropped.

_"Daughter-in-law?! How?!"_, Moonfyre gasped.

_"Because I have a human son. Aurora and I found him when he was a baby, all alone with no parents. So instead of letting him die, we raised him as our own."_

_"Oh okay. So he is adopted", _Sylerion exhaled_._

_"Well, yes and no. He was adopted initially but do to an incident where he died, I shared half of my heart with him. He is now very much alive and has my blood running through his veins. So he is now biologically my son", Re said._

_"Why would you go so far for a human?", _Rhyax questioned.

_"I understand what he did may seem wrong to you all. I can't make you change your feelings, but please understand something: Re and I raised him as our own. He is no self-sufficient and an excellent person. We couldn't be prouder. What you see a man, we see a dragon", _Aurora added.

At that moment, Chris, Hiccup, Windwalker, Tenor, and Toothless appeared. The group had rushed over to see 4 Night Furies when they were walking back from the Dragon Academy.

_"Ah, good timing! This is Toothless, the alpha of the dragons of Berk. The man next to him is his rider, Hiccup, the chief of this village. Then is our son, Chris. The dragon next to him is Tenor, the Prime Minister, with his mate-" , _Re declared but was interrupted by Rhyax.

_"Windwalker? Is that you?"_, Rhyax asked in confusion.

Windwalker tilted her head in puzzlement, squinting her eyes before they widened in realization.

_"No freaking way! Is that Rhyax?!"_, Windwalker smiled.

She then dashed to Rhyax who did the same to her. They were both squealing in amazement, prancing around each other and butting heads, happy.

_"You know this Night Fury?",_ Sylerion asked his son.

_"Yes father! This was the dragoness I told you about. The one who was the alpha of her pack in the middle of a war with humans"_, Rhyax beamed, thumping his tail against the ground madly.

_"Oh this is the one! It's nice to finally meet you"_, Moonfyre smiled.

_"Thanks!"_, Windwalker smiled as she sat down on her haunches, her tail wagging.

_"How do you know this dragon?"_, Tenor asked as he approached her.

_"Oh, Rhyax? He was actually stopping by. He heard about me when Chris and I were fighting in the Song War and offered to help. Needless to say he was phenomenal in battle and was a huge help. Sadly he couldn't stay because he had to get back to his family"_, Windwalker explained.

_"Well, I'm here now!"_

_"That you are!"_, Windwalker grinned.

Tenor bore a neutral expression on his muzzle.

_"Who are these dragons?"_, Toothless asked.

_"These are my family. Moonfyre, my mother; Sylerion, my father; and my brother, Rhyax"_, Raeya said.

_"This is the Night Fury who graciously allowed me to stay in his nest"_, Raeya told her family.

_"Thank you for helping our daughter"_, Moonfyre thanked.

_"Oh no thanks is needed. It is nice to finally meet you all."_

_"Same here. Now how did a Night Fury like you become an alpha?"_, Sylerion inquired.

_"That's a long, long story",_ Toothless sighed.

"Raeya has family?", Chris asked.

Raeya and her family looked at the human, slightly insulted.

_"I apologize on my rider's behalf. He lost his memory"_, Windwaker said sheepishly.

_"Your rider?"_, Rhyax asked, confused.

_"Yes. My rider. Just like Hiccup is Toothless' rider and Serenity is Tenor's rider"_, Windwalker answered.

_"Wait you have riders?! Why?"_, Sylerion asked.

_"How about you guys cover that, and Windwalker and I go on a flight to catch up. What do you think Windwalker?"_, Rhyax asked.

_"That sounds great"_, Windwalker replied.

_"But Win-"_, Tenor said but was cut off by Rhyax and Windwalker spreading their wings and surging through the air, and in a couple of seconds they were mere dots in the sky.

Tenor looked dismayed as he saw his mate fly away.

_"She's just catching up with an old friend"_, he said to himself.

Sylerion, meanwhile, was eyeing Hiccup, who was shifting his gaze between him, his mate, and his daughter. _"What is he staring at?"_, he growled.

_"Sylerion wants to know why you are staring at him"_, Re translated.

"Who's Sylerion?"

_"Oh I forgot to introduce them. Sylerion is Raeya's father, Moonfyre is her mother, and the Night Fury that just took off was her brother Rhyax"_, Re said.

"Oh I'm sorry. It's just I haven't seen another Night Fury besides Toothless, Windwalker or Tenor", Hiccup answered.

_"I haven't seen a Night Fury like you before"_, MoonFyre commented.

_"It's because I'm half Night Fury, half Blackfang"_, Tenor answered, wary of their responses. All his life he was bullied for being different, hopefully these dragons wouldn't treat him the same way.

_"Do you mind if we stay here and just chat. I feel like we are going to be very confused if don't know background"_, Sylerion asked.

_"Of course"_, Aurora answered.

They all say down in a circle with Aurora and Re leading the conversation, talking about all the past events in their lives of their friends, families, and themselves. Hiccup even told his life story. All the while, Raeya chose to be close to Toothless. He on the other hand was anxious. Now that Raeya's family was here, it was only a matter of time before she left. He needed a way to convince her to stay. Not only to stay on Berk, but to stay with him.


	15. Chapter 15

_"Wow. You all have been through a lot"_, Moonfyre commented after the Draconians and Hiccup told Raeya and her family everything that had happened to them up to this point. Everything from Hiccup losing his father, to discovering Chris and Windwalker, and up to the 2 humans being selected as a god's champions.

By the time they finished the telling of their saga, the sun was setting, streaking the water and sky with streaks of warm orange and mellow purple.

_"And what if he doesn't gain his memory by that time?"_, Sylerion asked.

_"Then it will be a dark day for everyone"_, Re said solemnly.

Re looked at his son and noticed the sullen look on his face as he absently stared at the ground. Hiccup was in a similar position too, leaning against Toothless as he did so.

_"But we have about a year to prepare. I believe we will be fine"_, Re assured.

Before anything else could be said, Rhyax and Windwalker returned from their flight.

_"Man that was fun. We should do it again sometime"_, Rhyax smiled.

_"Yeah. I haven't done aerial maneuvers like that in years!"_, Windwalker beamed as they walked towards the group.

It was like they were in their own little world, and Tenor didn't like that. He frowned a bit as they joined the group.

_"Hey, what took you two so long?"_, Moonfyre asked Rhyax.

_"Well, we went on a smooth flight across the ocean catching up with each other. Then we stopped to get something to eat"_, Rhyax started.

_"...and then this guy thought he was faster than me since I apparently lost my touch starting a family and whatnot. So we played a game of tag, which I obviously won"_, Windwalker finished.

"_Yeah whatever. I let you win"_, Rhyax sneered.

_"Keep telling yourself that if it makes your ego feel better"_, Windwalker shot back, smirking.

_"Anyways, you shouldn't have been out that long!"_, Moonfyre scolded.

_"Mother, with all due respect, I'm an fully-grown drake who can take care of himself. And besides, it's not like we're leaving soon"_, Rhyax sighed. However, he immediately snapped his mouth shut when everybody looked at him.

His family's eyes widened in shock at potentially revealing their plan, while the rest looked at him with confusion.

_"What do you mean not leaving anytime soon?"_, Tenor questioned.

_"Yeah, I thought you said that when you all found Raeya you...would leave"_, Toothless said a bit sadly, though he didn't show it.

Sylerion looked back and forth between his mate and his son, staring daggers at the latter.

_"Oh well...initially yes, we planned to do that. However...after hearing your life stories and everything up until now, we were wondering if possibly...we could stay at Draconia?"_, Sylerion said a bit weirdly.

_"Oh really? How come?"_, Re asked.

_"Well, we always were on the run because of other dragons treating us differently because of Raeya's...predicament. But seeing as how friendly, or in the Viking's case, tolerable, we were hoping that we might find a home here"_, Moonfyre replied quickly.

_"We could stay here for a bit, until the royal dragons leave to Draconia and we could go with them to the home country and live there"_, Raeya mentioned, looking at her family knowingly while passing quick glances to Toothless.

Sylerion caught on to what she implied, however he did notice the quick looks his daughter was giving Toothless. Naturally, he was curious as to what happened while they were separated. He decided they would talk about it later.

_"Well, this hill is big enough for all of us"_, Re said.

_"Oh no it is fine. We wish to not disturb you. In fact, we kinda wish to stay a bit separate. We don't really...trust the humans yet"_, Sylerion declared.

"_Alright. We're heading to bed now. See you all in the morning"_, Re said.

Rhyax, Sylerion, and Moonfyre all nodded and turn around, heading to the forest. Meanwhile, Raeya was currently having her own chat with Toothless.

_"Well, I'll see you in the morning"_, Toothless said.

_"Yeah"_

_"So, you are leaving tomorrow?"_, Toothless asked, a bit sadly.

_"No. I don't think I'm leaving until a couple of more days"_, Raeya responded.

_"Really? That's good"_, Toothless beamed a bit.

_"Yeah it is"_, Raeya smiled. Her mind was shocked that she said that. Why did she say that? Why did Toothless think it was a good thing for her to stay? Did he want her to stay here?

She turned her head around and saw her parents waiting for her.

_"Well I gotta go Toothless. See you tomorrow"_, Raeya smiled before she turned around.

Toothless had his head down a bit as she left. Because of that, he was taken by sunrise when Raeya head butted him softly–which is the dragon equivalent of a hug.

_"Thank you Toothless"_, she uttered quickly before she took off with her parents.

Toothless' mouth parted a bit, partly in embarrassment.

He continued to stare in her direction well after she left. He turned around and was met with the stares/smirks of the Draconians and his rider.

_"Having fun there?"_ Windwalker snickered.

_"Shut up!"_, he growled back.

She and Tenor giggled while Re, Aurora, and the 3 humans had smiles on their faces.

_"Goodnight"_, Toothless simply said as he trotted up and snagged his rider's foot, dragging him down the hill and to his house.

It was well into nighttime that the 4 Night Furies landed in a secluded clearing far on the north side of the Isle of Berk.

_"Well I didn't expect them to be so friendly"_, Moonfyre commented as she looked from her children to her mate.

_"Well they have to look pretty for the crowd dear"_, Sylerion scowled.

_"Man, I bet they have everything prepped and preened for them. Having everything handed to them on a silver platter"_, Rhyax added

_"They don't seem that bad. Listening to them and all that they've been through, they might've had it worse. Like they said: they are dragons first, then royalty"_, Raeya chimed in.

The rest of her family looked at her, bewildered.

_"I'm sorry, what?"_, Rhyax asked.

_"I've been with them for about a week. They seem like nice people, and considering that they were helping the humans, which dragons rarely do"_, Raeya explained.

_"Looks can be deceiving Raeya"_, Sylerion cautioned. Raeya seemed to be the only one who found that ironic.

_"And so what if you've been here a week. It seems like all you've been doing is hanging out with your new mate"_, Rhyax sneered.

Blood rushed to her scaly cheeks. _"He's not my mate_!", Raeya nearly shouted.

_"Mate?! The crippled alpha of the dragons of Berk?!"_, Moonfyre asked, shocked.

_"No mom, he is not my mate!"_, Raeya groaned.

_"Good! How is he suppose to provide for you and your future hatchlings if he can't even fly?!"_, Moonfyre berated.

_"He seems to be doing just fine with or without Hiccup!"_, Raeya shot back.

_"Not when it comes to flying"_, Rhyax sneered.

Raeya growled and turned to her brother. _"And how's it going with Windwalker? It seems like she will always be better than you. No matter how hard you try, it seems you will never catch her. You couldn't do it back then and you certainly can't do it now. Tenor got to her before you did!"_

Rhyax's pupils turned into slits and snarled at his sister.

_"Say that to me one more time!"_

Two sudden plasma blasts cut them off before they could do anymore damage.

_"We do not have time for petty love affairs!", _Sylerion growled, _"Let's do what we actually came here to do!"_

_"Well, after talking to them, I can't seem to find anything of value to them", _Moonfyre thought out loud.

_"Yes. They don't value anything monetary"_, Sylerion observed.

_"But they have to value something!"_, Rhyax groaned in frustration.

_"They value family"_, Raeya answered.

Again, her family turned to her.

_"What?"_

_"That's all the ever care about. They said that they would give up all the riches, luxury, etc., because that only lasts temporarily. Family, at least to them, lasts forever"_, Raeya continued.

_"Hit them where it means the most"_, Moonfyre muttered.

_"Exactly! We take away their family, they are nothing!"_, Sylerion exclaimed.

_"And how do you suppose we take out their whole family at once?"_, Rhyax inquired.

_"We don't. We take it out little-by-little"_, Sylerion explained.

_"How?"_

_"Simple. Your mother and I will distract the King and Queen. You, Rhyax, will cause as much tension between the Prime Minister and his mate as you can, since you can't really claim her as a mate. I hate to say it son, but you lost your chance years ago"_, Sylerion explained.

_"We'll see about that"_, Rhyax muttered.

_"Raeya, you will distract the Berk alpha."_

Raeya's eyes widened a bit. _"Distract Toothless?"_

_"Yes. It should be a piece of fish for you. He's already infatuated with you"_, Rhyax said.

Raeya pulled her head back a bit in shock. 'Toothless is in love with me? He can't be in love with me. Oh no. That will just make it worse. If I can just somehow get my parents caught red-handed... But I can't pull this off by myself. Too many things have happened already. I need help...maybe he can help me', Raeya thought to herself, trying to improvise her plan.

_"This is for all the years you didn't believe that my family and I had to endure all the pain of being shunned, for not helping us"_, Sylerion seethed to no one in particular.

Raeya went quiet as she heard her father speak his monologue. She knew he was taking about her and her eyes. How they got rejected from countless others and hoped that the King and Queen would do something about the bullying of her eyes, but no. The King and Queen couldn't do anything without proof, so they had to live their life with injustice.

She still couldn't understand why his father made a big deal out of it. They weren't the ones who had to live with the torment of everybody taking one look at her eyes before turning the other way. She had that everywhere she went. Everywhere except Berk.

Raeya was conflicted. She had to come up with a plan fast. Not only that, but she was confused about her heart. The fact that Toothless could like her, scared her. But she couldn't understand her feelings towards him. Yes, he was an amazing friend, but as a lover? It was the fact that she was indecisive about it that concerned her the most. Regardless what path she took: reciprocating his possible love or going no further than a strong friendship; she didn't want to fathom the effects of each choice. Was she willing to jeopardize a friendship or watch a blooming love willow away?

And what of Kassandra? There was no doubt that she didn't mind the human. In fact, she kinda liked her. They were both lonesome females who are both trying to get away from their families. What luck! Perhaps it would be best if they just ran away together.

'Like that would ever happen'. Raeya rolled her eyes at the slim possibility of it occurring.

Her mind wandered back to Toothless. How strong he was. How he made her fit in and made her felt welcomed, like a dragon. His piercing green ey-

'Stop it Raeya! Focus on the family first, then him!', she scolded herself.

Regardless of it all, things are about to get much more complicated than she originally thought.

'Oh, why did I pick this island to fish on?', Raeya groaned.


	16. Chapter 16

_"That should be enough for her." _Toothless exhaled as he stared at a pile of fish. He wanted to impress Raeya. He hoped this gift would make her happy. He woke up before dawn–before all the other dragons woke up–to ensure he would get the best fish when he went fishing.

He had to wake up Hiccup and Astrid a bit earlier than usual, much to the anger of he remembered correctly, it was something about disturbing Hagen, but he brushed it off.

It was annoying, the language barrier between him and Hiccup was. Toothless was close to biting his paw off when he somehow convinced Hiccup to let him use the automatic tail fin. His human started babbling on about something but Toothless was in the sky a moment later after Hiccup attached the fin.

He started gathering all types of fish for Raeya, quickly scanning the sea for the most scrumptious of fish. After about an hour of fishing, he slowly piled up a big pile of fish for her. It was sitting behind Hiccup's house, covered with shrubbery and chopped piles of wood. It was painstaking putting all that there to obscure the sight and scent of the fish, but necessary nonetheless. He even burnt some of the wood to overpower the scent of fish. He smiled when it worked.

_"I hope she likes it."_ He thought out loud

_"Of course she will. She's a dragon. Dragons love fish."_ Another side of him bickered.

For now he agreed with that side. However, as he looked at the pile, he couldn't help but feel something was missing from there.

_"Trout, Mackerel, Cod, Salmon..."_ he started listing. He looked down in thought as he tried to remembered what he was missing.

_"TUNA!"_ Toothless gasped as he bounded off into the air and out to sea. Unfortunately for Toothless, he just made a trivial mistake.

"So I don't understand the point of this Fishlegs." Kassandra said.

"The point is that you need to know all your different types of dragons if you plan to stay on Berk." Fishlegs responded.

"Can we hurry up? I wanna pet Meatlug!" Slug shouted. Slug was a 8 year old Viking with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Yeah! Let's pet the Gronkle!" Thorna, a young girl Viking sang with glee.

"Come one Fishlegs! Why is she even here? She doesn't even know anything about dragons!" another young Viking exclaimed.

"Yeah! She's stupid!" one sang in the back.

Kassandra snapped her head around and glared daggers at the kid, which prompted him to cower back.

"Now now guys. You all were just as clueless as she was when you first started here. It's not her fault she doesn't know." Fishlegs said to the future generation of dragon riders. They all mumbled and nodded their head in agreement after a moment.

"Okay class. You just stumbled into a dragon's cave. It belongs to a Monstrous Nightmare. What do you do?"

"Give it fish!"

"Speak to it!"

"Play dead"

"Run away!"

Fishlegs silenced them before it got out of hand.

"All wrong. You need to show it you are not a threat. Open palms, gentle movement, and a soothing voice." All the kids groaned their dismay at being wrong.

"Well aren't you suppose to run away from these beasts. Just one look and you are dead. Much like gazing into the eyes of Medusa." Kassandra spoke up.

The whole class looked back at her weirdly, as if she just slapped herself.

"Well I don't know who this Medusa is, but most dragons aren't deadly at all. If you approach them in a docile, non-threatening manner, they won't mind you. However, depending on what type of dragon you encounter, will determine how they react to you." Fishlegs explained.

"So you want me to calm them down when they have no idea what I'm capable of when I am most likely intruding on their space? That's odd." Kassandra asked.

"Well, when you put it that way, it seems odd. But don't overthink it." Fishlegs sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Ever since Hiccup asked him to give him dragon lessons to the younger Vikings, he couldn't have been happier. But when he asked him to give Kassandra lessens he accepted eagerly, not knowing how much of a pain she was.

"What? I'm just asking. Why would it make sense to calm them down when we angered them in the first place? Wouldn't that make them angrier?"

"Well we can't just talk to them! 'Oh hi Nightmare, I'm sorry for stepping on your land. I didn't know you owned this patch of ground. Let me just go around'. We can't talk to them so this is the only way to calm them down." Fishlegs said, slightly annoyed. He was starting to see how Hiccup felt when he was talking to Snotlout or the Twins, or when Gobber talked to them all.

"So why not just speak their language?"

"Because we can't. The only ones who can are the Draconians! So this is the only way we can communicate with them: with body language!" Fishlegs exhaled.

"Why not learn it?" Slug asked.

"Because it takes a lifetime to learn. I already asked Chris and Serenity. They said that it would take a lot of dedication and practice to even get the basics of it. And that it's very hard to even pronounce half of the words since human mouths aren't designed like dragon mouths. And considering that they only come to Berk half a year, it would take twice as long to learn it." Fishlegs groaned.

"That's not fair!"

"Yeah! I wanna learn it!"

"Why can't we learn Dragonese. I wanna talk dragon!"

A chorus of complaints soon rang out, with Fishlegs doing his best to quell the crowd. He scowled, looking for Kassandra, since she provoked the crowd before him. Unfortunately for him, she slipped out during the chaos.

Kassandra peered over the edge of the arena, sighing in satisfaction while watching Fishlegs be overwhelmed. She couldn't stand it. Being with a bunch of kids. If she was even considering being a...a dragon rider...she couldn't learn in a setting like that. She grew up with one-on-one training and she was gonna stick with it. Her father taught her solely how to fight while her mother taught her how to clean and every other thing a woman was expected to do.

"What are you doing?" a sudden voice asked.

She jumped slightly, snapping her head around to see Chris looking at her with confusion.

"Oh. Nothing. I was doing nothing." Kassandra timidly answered.

"That doesn't sound suspicious at all." Chris chuckled.

Kassandra sighed in defeat. "Well, I just wanted to get away from those children and that Fishlegs. I understand I don't know anything about dragons, but I don't deserve to be lectured like a child."

"Why don't you ask the Draconians. They seem to more about dragons than Vikings do. I mean, they are dragons so they would know about their own kind than any other person should." Chris suggested.

"You mean your parents?"

Chris frowned a bit. "Well, I do know that they are intelligent. However...I don't think they are my parents. I don't remember that they were and I can't imagine how they can be." Chris answered truthfully.

"I agree. How can beasts like them raise humans?"

"Maybe it's witchcraft?" Chris asked, smiling.

"Dragon witches. Well I'll be damned!" Kassandra chortled.

Chris looked at her thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Kassandra asked as she picked up on his facial expression.

"I don't think I've officially met you." Chris declared.

"Well, you did, but you don't remember. I uh...I am the one who gave you amnesia." Kassandra said hesitantly.

"Oh...well, I'm sure you didn't mean to." Chris answered.

"I don't know. I mean, how would you feel if you were grabbed unexpectedly by a flying beast and hoisted up high in the air, that close to falling to your death?" Kassandra asked.

Chris looked down in thought. "I guess it makes sense for you to act that way. I'd probably freak out and do something stupid."

Kassandra narrowed her eyes. "It wasn't stupid. It was smart."

"Windwalker told me you were screaming like a goat would." Chris laughed.

Kassandra scoffed, "and what would she know?"

"She knows a lot. And how does your dragon fair then?"

"My dragon?"

"The one with the blue and green eyes?"

"Oh... Oh! She isn't my dragon! No no no. Raeya isn't my dragon. I don't ride her. I would never ride her! I would never ride dragon!" Kassandra exclaimed.

"Well, even though she isn't your dragon, you don't know what you are missing. I just went flying today for the...I guess for the first time, and it was breath-taking, literally." Chris pointed out.

"Ha! As if I'd ever want to hit the clouds!"

Chris gave her a puzzled look. "Clouds aren't solid. You don't really hit them.

"Sure they aren't. That's as true as the Kallikantzaroi." Kassandra said sarcastically.

"What?"

"Never mind."

Chris chuckled. "You're funny. Come, let's walk. Tell me more about this Kall-kan-za-roh."

"It's prounced Kal-li-kant-za-roi." Kassandra replied.

"Then please, educate me then." Chris smiled as he began walking, prompting Kassandra to follow. Pretty soon, they were lost in deep conversation about Greek folklore.

One hour prior to that, Chris was sitting on top of hill with the rest of his "family". Everyone was in deep conversation, talking about things Chris didn't know. Things he didn't remember.

_"So where's Windwalker, Tenor?" _Re asked.

_"She is hanging out with Rhyax again."_ Tenor remarked with a scowl.

"Tenor, what's wrong?" Serenity asked, noticing her dragon's scowl.

_"It's nothing.."_

"It's obviously not. What is it?" Serenity pressed.

_"Well, Windwalker has just been hanging out with Rhyax lately." _Tenor admitted.

_"Tenor, Windwalker is just reuniting with an old friend. I'm sure they have a lot to talk about. I know that if I was separated from Re for a long time, I would feel that way too."_ Aurora reassured.

Tenor rested his head on his forepaws, having nothing else to say.

Just then, a couple of roars were heard nearby. The Draconians picked up their heads towards the source of the sound.

_"Another dragon dispute it seems."_ Re commented.

_"Yes, it sounds like it, but Toothless can handle it. He's the alpha here." _Aurora asserted.

Serenity visibly tensed and looked worried. Chris picked up on her change of mood.

"What's the matter?"

"It's just...dragons shouldn't fight."

Chris looked at her oddly. "What do you mean they shouldn't fight? Everyone fights, especially dragons."

Serenity turned to look at her husband. "Well, they shouldn't. Fighting is nothing but conflict and dispute, and that leads to misery and pain."

She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Tenor came over and nuzzled her shoulder. "_Hey it's alright. This will soon pass and everything will go back to normal."_

Serenity just nodded silently, not uttering not a word.

"Why does everyone have to resort to fighting?" Serenity asked to no one in particular.

"Fighting helps settle disputes. Sometimes fighting is the only way to resolve conflict." Chris mentioned.

Serenity looked up at her husband. "But when they are fighting, they don't value life. When you are fighting and arguing, you don't really care about the other person. You just care about getting your way. Nothing is valued in battle and arguing except winning."

_"Not everyone thinks like that Serenity. Some people just want to use force to get their way and words may not always solve the disputes. We do our best to prevent fighting, but sometimes it is out of our control." _Tenor explained softly.

"You said you only heal dragons, right?" Chris asked, deep in thought.

"Yes. That's all I do." Serenity answered.

Chris was silent as he contemplated the information given to him.

_"What's the matter?" _Aurora asked.

Chris looked up and noticed his family looking at him.

"Nothing, just trying to remember, that's all." Chris half-lied.

_"That's good. The sooner you remember, the sooner everything will go back to normal." _Re voiced.

Chris was focused on that one word his father uttered: normal. Chris then got up.

"I'm going to go for a walk. Maybe that will help me remember."

"Go ahead. Hopefully it will." Serenity responded.

Chris began walking toward the village. As he walked down the hill, he didn't notice Sylerion and Moonfyre walking up the hill, passing him. His mind was elsewhere. Many thoughts popped into his head. He also was replaying all the stuff he was told, from who he was before his amnesia to what just occurred right now. Through it all, one question took up a majority of his attention.

"How is any of this normal?"

Toothless huffed as he landed near Hiccup's house, back from a long session of fishing. It was painstaking to say the least, trying to find the perfect tuna for Raeya.

_"Well at least I got one." _Toothless said with a big tuna in his jaws. It was heavy and thick, and slightly put some strain on his jaw. If this wasn't the perfect fish, then he didn't know what was.

As he made his way to the back of the house, he heard a slight commotion. He picked up his pace and he dropped his tuna in shock.

A swarm of Terrible Terrors were currently devouring his pile of fish. His demeanor snapped. He roared at the top of his lungs as he rushed towards them.

_"Get the hell away!"_ Toothless snarled, thrashing his head back and forth while flaring his wings.

The Terrors yelped in surprise and fear, swarming away and out of sight. Toothless tried biting at them but they were too many and soon, all that remained were the small scraps of bones, fins, and partly devoured fish that hadn't been finished in time.

Toothless looked down at his pile of fish. His anger quickly turned into anguish. He groaned in defeat, lowering his head. His ears picked up when he heard some movement behind him. His head whipped around and his eyes settled on a trio of Terrible Terrors that were trying to eat his tuna. Raeya's tuna.

His anguish turned back into anger as his eyes slitted. His piercing eyes settled on the group and when their eyes met his, they froze.

_"I am going to end your life slowly, and painfully." _Toothless glowered as he slowly crept toward them.

They whimpered in fear as they had nowhere else to go. Toothless looked down and assessed the damage. They had eaten part of its face and find, but overall the meat was still there.

_"Hey Toothless." _a familiar voice said.

Said Night Fury tensed as he turned around and was met by Raeya.

_"Oh, hi, Raeya." _Toothless greeted timidly.

The 3 Terrors all scurried out of sight when their alpha turned around.

_"Oh was I interrupting something?"_

_"No no! It's just, those stupid Terrors ruined everything."_

_"How so?"_

Toothless looked at Raeya and blushed a bit._ "Well, they ate my pile of fish."_

_"Why would you leave fish unattended? Especially a pile of it? We both know dragons just love fish, even more so when they don't have to work for it."_

Toothless sighed. _"...because it was for you."_

Raeya brought her head back slightly. _"Me? Wait what?"_

_"I was planning to give you a pile of fish. So I woke up before dawn and fished for about 2-3 hours."_ Toothless admitted shyly.

_"But how? You can't fly on your own."_

_"I had to wake up Hiccup and convince him to let me try out my automatic tail fin." T_oothless said a she brought his tail around and flexed his tail fin, the prosthetic tail responding in tandem_. "He made this tail so that I could fly on my own."_

Raeya's heart swelled a bit. 'He flew on his own and went fishing for me?' she thought to herself.

_"And now those stupid Terrors ate all the fish. I hid the fish and covered the scent, but I-" _he stopped when he realized what went wrong._ "I left the pile uncovered. I should've known better. You can't stop a hungry dragon from eating. Now all I have left is this tuna."_ Toothless said as he gestured to the slightly-eaten tuna.

_"Why a tuna?"_

_"Because that's the one fish I left out in the pile. So I went to go get it but I left the pile uncovered. Now I understand how those dragons found my fish."_ Toothless sighed, shameful of his costly mistake.

Raeya slowly moved toward him. Toothless looked up and his eyes widened as she got closer and closer, until they were almost touching noses. They stared into each other's eyes. Blue and green meeting electrifying green. Raeya smiled slightly as she bent her neck around Toothless and latched her teeth onto the dead tuna. She raised her head and tossed her head back, letting the tuna fly in the air for a moment before it descended into her mouth. Raeya gulped down the tasty fish and smacked her lips.

_"That was really good. Thank you for the fish Toothless." _Raeya grinned. Toothless was speechless. After all that, she still liked it.

He was further speechless as Raeya did something he never thought she would do. She nuzzles him. It wasn't a long nuzzle, but like a short, grateful one. One you would give out of gratitude and happiness.

He quivered ever so slightly as he was nuzzled. He prayed she didn't feel that. He felt her scales rub against his lightly before pulling back quickly.

_"Thank you Toothless. I really appreciate it." _Raeya smiled affectionately before spreading her wings and taking off.

Toothless stood there dumbstruck as she flew off to somewhere unknown. He was stunned. She nuzzled him. She nuzzled him. He thought she was going to be disappointed. But the opposite happened! He didn't even notice when Hiccup came up to him and tried to get his attention, asking what was wrong.

Nothing was wrong. For Toothless, it was win. A small, unexpected win, but nonetheless a win.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys. The reason why I haven't been posting regularly is because of schoolwork. It is just piling and the stress of it all is weighing down on me. Anyways, that doesn't mean I am going to abandon this story. At worst, I won't be posting new chapters as often as I used to. Regardless, enjoy! Please give me feedback on this story! It would be greatly appreciated!**

Sylerion and Moonfyre watched as Chris walked down the hill.

"_Where is that human off too?"_ Moonfyre asked.

"_I don't know, but we need not be wary of him. He lost his memory. He is of no real threat."_ Sylerion responded.

They arrived atop the hill to see the king and queen resting. Their heads lifted when they noticed they had visitors.

_"Oh hello. What brings you here?"_ Re asked.

_"Oh we just came to know some more about our good King and Queen." _Moonfyre answered.

_"Oh alright. What do you want to know more than what we have said yesterday?" _Aurora asked.

Sylerion and Moonfyre settled down across from the royal dragons. They were about to say something but Sylerion looked around confused.

_"Where is the Prime Minister, Tenor?"_ the Night Fury asked.

_"Well he is usually a nocturnal dragon. He either should be sleeping or out hunting. Windwalker is gone as well, so I'm assuming he is out with her." _Re explained.

The Night Furies nodded in understanding.

_"So tell us, why have you made a treaty with humans? What is so special about them?" _Moonfyre asked.

_"Well, these are humans unlike any we have ever encountered before. They are the first ever to have made peace with our kind."_ Aurora answered.

_"How do you know they won't betray you?"_

_"We don't. However, most villages don't know what the other villages are capable of. That's why they make pacts: to ensure they won't kill the other if each village provides something for the other. It builds trust, reducing the chances of them betraying one another." _Re said.

_"So what do you provide for this village?"_ Moonfyre inquired.

_"Anything really. We are their allies and will aid them in their time of need. We are usually back up. In exchange, they are the communicators between our kind and the humans. Those humans can do many things that dragons cannot. They are valuable to us, even though it may not seem like it."_ Aurora explained doubtfully, looking at her mate.

_"I apologize for my uncertainty. We have never been asked that type of question before. We are allies, plain and simple. We help them and they help us." _Aurora continued.

Re looked towards the forest. _"It's unusual for Tenor to be out at a time like this." _

_"Like you said, he is probably out hunting." _Moonfyre said, trying to prevent the topic from straying.

_"Yes, but he usually hunts in the day when he can't remain awake in the night or something is bothering him." _Aurora pointed out.

_"I'm sure it is the first. Anyways, where are the children? I don't think I ever met them formally before." _Moonfyre asked.

"_Oh the children are more than likely playing in the forests. That is what they usually do."_ Aurora said.

"_And they play all day?"_

"_Yes. They are hatchlings. They need not worry themselves with adult matters." _Re declared.

"_And you are not worried that the human child would hurt them?"_, Sylerion asked.

Re narrowed his eyes. "_That human child is my granddaughter. She is the creation of my son and his beloved mate and my healer, Serenity. Edelweiss has my blood running through her veins, so while her form may be different, she is very much family. I would advise that you remember 2 things:do not hold my granddaughter up to human stereotypes and that family is not limited to blood. You would live well to remember that."_

Sylerion would have said something back, but refrained from doing so. If he wanted his plan to work, he had to act ignorant. How he hated acting stupid. Sylerion quickly looked away and bowed his head slightly. His wings spread out a bit as he put a regretful look on his face.

"_I apologize my king. It is just that my family and I have seen these humans do terrible things, even when they are young. It slipped my mind that the human child has dragon's blood coursing through her veins and sensibly would not be like the others of her kind. Forgive me for my ignorance."_ Sylerion stated.

Re sighed. He hated when other dragons seemed to fear him out of the crown he wore instead of as a dragon himself. Without his armor and crown, he was still a dragon. To him, being a dragon was more important than being a king.

"_Rise. No need to apologize for something you did not know."_

Sylerion rose and gave a sheepish, gummy smile. It was similar to Toothless' signature smile but it didn't really look the same on an older Night Fury. Perhaps it was Sylerion's broaden features—due to his age—that accounted for this. Re figured that the smile should only be for Toothless and Toothless only. They spent the rest of the day talking about trivial things back home. Nothing eventful happened.

Rhyax and Windwalker landed in a clearing on the opposite side of Berk. It was near a cliff, overlooking the ocean. The cliff was high enough where the crashing waves wouldn't splash them, but they would certainly feel a slight mist wafting up. The sun would set in about 30 minutes and Rhyax decided that it would be best to call it early for today as they both ran out of things to do. They decided it would be best to come back tomorrow and come up with new ideas.

"_That was a very fun day Windwalker."_ Rhyax huffed.

"_Yeah. I did not know there were that many ways to catch fish."_ Windwalker chuckled.

"_Creativity is limitless, especially when there are 2 dragons instead of one."_

"_Double the creativity."_ Windwalker surmised.

"_My thoughts exactly. We think alike, you and I."_

"_We're Night Furies. We are alike, except for our genders, personality and eye color."_ she smiled.

"_Really? I did not know that at all."_ the sarcasm was dripping from Rhyax's maw as he said that.

"_And then I wonder where you have been all this time. Looks like you were stuck figuring out yourself!"_ Windwalker laughed.

Rhyax shook his head as he settled down, looking out towards the ocean. Windwalker sat down on her haunches a few feet away. Things were quiet for a minute as they both enjoyed the scenery.

"_Sorry."_ Rhyax uttered.

Windwalker regarded him with a puzzled expression.

"_What are you sorry for?"_

"_For leaving you when you probably needed me the most, during the war."_

Windwalker looked at him a bit before shrugging and gazing over the ocean again.

"_Do not apologize. There is nothing to be sorry for. That war concerned my nest and my nest only. Besides, you had family to get back to. It would have been selfish of me to take you away from them to fight in a war that did not concern you in the slightest." _Windwalker said flatly.

Rhyax peered at her. "_If I had known the impact those humans had on your nest, I would've-"_

"_You would've what, Rhyax? It didn't matter how many dragons we had! Those humans had something greater than dragon fire. They had numbers we could never have acquired. If we had more dragons to fight, we would have lost even more at the end of it all. Hundreds of my brothers and sisters died because of those disgusting humans. Even when we had the Draconians on our side, we were still losing. If it wasn't for Chris somehow convincing the Jin to betray the Song... Only those humans could have defeated them. We...we were no match."_ Windwalker said a bit sadly.

The air was silent around them as no one spoke. Windwalker had her eyes shut as she was reflecting about what could have been. Rhyax said nothing. Nothing needed to be said. After a minute or so, Windwalker exhaled and opened her eyes.

"_I'm sorry. I was reminded of the war. It's not...a pretty sight."_ Windwalker sighed.

"_Hey it's okay. You can talk to me about it if you want."_ Rhyax said as he approached her, wrapping a wing around her.

Windwalker smiled. "_I appreciate it. I got it all out of my system. It just sometimes comes back."_

"_I don't think you can say you got it all out of your system if it comes back."_

Windwalker stepped forward a bit. "_Perhaps you are right. I don't know. Sometimes I get flashes of those days. I can't do anything except relive them over and over again. I just thank Draco that Tenor is there for me. He really helps me get through those nights."_

Rhyax scowled. Again with Tenor. He didn't know what was so special about him. Take away that position and armor of his, he is nothing but a weird-looking dragon. He didn't know what Windwalker saw in him.

"_Well that's good for you. Just remember that I will be there for you too."_

Windwalker grinned in satisfaction. She walked towards him and butted his head softly. "_Well thank you for that."_

If it wasn't for his black scales, his blush would have been evident across his cheeks. "_You're welcome."_

Windwalker nodded before looking at the sky once more, noting how dark it was getting. "_I am going to head back to my family. I'll see you tomorrow?"_

"_Definitely."_

With that, Windwalker sprang into the sky and headed towards Berk while Rhyax watched her go. A sly smile was on his lips.

"_Well doesn't she seem totally in love with you."_ a familiar voice said sarcastically.

Raeya emerged from a nearby bush. She had been walking around after the fish incident with Toothless, looking for her brother, before ending up halfway into her brother and Windwalker's conversation. She decided to hide herself amidst the greenery and watch them

Rhyax's smile quickly turned sour. "_I don't see you doing any better."_ Rhyax growled to his sister. Raeya looked down at her paws, thinking about Toothless.

"_It's not like I need to do much to him. He actually... gave me a pile of fish."_

Rhyax stopped his growling to look at her questioningly. His perplexion evident on his features.

"_A whole pile of fish, huh? He must really like you."_ Rhyax stated.

Raeya's ears burned in embarrassment. "_Shut up!"_

"_Awe. What's the matter sis? Can't handle that fact that someone actually likes you?"_ Rhyax sneered.

Raeya growled and turned her head away from Rhyax.

"_Just imagine it Raeya. You and that cripple all snuggled up to each other while your little hatchlings are running around without a care in the world. Do you want that?"_

Raeya growled and snapped her eyes shut. As much as she hated it, she couldn't help as the thought popped into her mind. Although as soon as the thought came, she quickly pushed it out.

"_I'm not hearing a 'no'."_ Rhyax pressed.

"_I bet you wish you could say the same with Windwalker. I admit that it looked like you had it but she escaped from your grasp, again."_ Raeya grinned, turning the tables.

Rhyax's mood shifted at the mentioning of Windwalker. "_Shut it runt! You don't know anything about her!"_

"_I know enough that she was too busy for you. Saving dragons and all. It's funny really. Your situation is similar to a hatchling trying to catch its first fish; fumbling with it and dropping it before giving up and crying to its mother to help him."_ Windwalker said.

Rhyax snapped and lunged at his sister. The two rolled around, snapping and clawing at each other until Rhyax used his weight to pin her down. A claw pressed against her throat.

"_You are so lucky you are my sister. If it weren't for the fact that we share blood, you would be dead!"_ Rhyax seethed.

"_An empty threat. Nothing I haven't heard before. Now before you hit me with yet another threat, our father told me to tell you we are going to go over some final things before we strike."_ Raeya hissed.

Rhyax growled in her face loudly before letting her up. "_Then let's not keep our dear father waiting."_ Rhyax spread his wings before zooming into the air, with Raeya following close behind.

Windwalker landed on top of the hill where her family was settled. Yet when she arrived, no one was there. She looked around left and right and still, no one was in sight.

"_They all went fishing."_ a voice said.

She snapped her head around and was relieved to find Tenor there, approaching her.

"_Then our riders-"_

"_-are riding Re and Aurora."_ Tenor said flatly.

"_Oh okay. So it is just you and me."_ Windwalker said.

"_No. It's going to be you by yourself. I'm going fishing right now."_

"_Oh. You mind if I come with?"_

"_No it's fine. I'm sure you went fishing with Rhyax. No need to do so with me."_

Windwalker's eyes narrowed. "_And what is that suppose to mean?"_

"_Gee I don't know. You tell me. From what I see, you guys have been doing everything together."_

"_I'm sorry that I can't hang out with a friend. I didn't know that I was breaking a law."_

"_Windwalker, I hardly see you anymore."_

"_You see me everyday!"_

"_Barely. Sometimes I don't even talk to you. It's just a 'I'm gonna be back this afternoon. See ya!'."_

"_Tenor, does he bother you?" _Windwalker asked after a moment of silence.

The Prime Minister looked down at the ground before he looked back up at his mate. "_No. It's just seems like you hang out with him more and more and less and less with Black Widow and I. We miss you, that's all." _Tenor shook his head. Rhyax didn't bother him. Well, not entirely. Ever since he showed up, something in the air changed. Something felt off to him. He couldn't explain it, but Rhyax didn't seem right to him.

"_Oh okay. For a second there, I was going to say you were jealous." _When the words escaped her mouth, she instantly regretted it.

"_Jealous? Of him? Are you serious Windwalker? Why in the world would I ever be jealous of him?"_ Tenor nearly shouted.

"_Okay okay! My bad! I shouldn't have said that. It was just a stupid thought. Nothing more. I'm sorry. I'll stop hanging out with him often. It's just that I haven't seen him in years and I just thought it was nice to hang out with a friend. After the war, I didn't have many left."_ Windwalker quickly apologized.

Tenor snorted, smoke coming out of his nostrils. He inhaled greatly, holding his breath a bit before exhaling. Some smoke billowing out. He walked up to her and nuzzled her neck.

"_It's fine, Windwalker. Don't worry about it."_ Tenor spoke as he pulled back slightly, looking her in her golden eyes.

Windwalker said nothing as she gazed back into his green eyes. She didn't say anything as he took off towards the ocean. She watched him fly across the sky until he was no longer visible. She would have gone too, but she did in fact go fishing with Rhyax earlier today. With nothing else to do, she settled down and rested her head on her paws, deciding to go to sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

"What are you guys doing?" Hiccup sighed. Hiccup was currently looking up at the Twins, who were suspended in a tree in a net.

"Hey get your elbow out of my rib!" Ruffnut shouted.

"Get your rib out of my elbow, troll breath!" Tuff barked back.

"How did you guys end up in there?" Hiccup asked before the situation escalated.

"Well you see the thing is-" Ruffnut began.

"You know what never mind. I shouldn't even be surprised. Let's just get you guys down." Hiccup stated as he searched for the rope that held them up.

"Where's your dragon?" Hiccup asked as he searched all around the tree.

"The traitor looked at us, laughed and walked away!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"When I get outta here I'm gonna knock their heads together!" Ruffnut shouted,

"Not if I get to them first!" her brother countered.

"Oh yeah? What if I get to you first?" Ruffnut sneered before reaching around to slap her brother.

Before anything serious could happen, Hiccup found the rope that was suspending them in the net. Using his knife attached to his left arm, he swiftly cut them down. After a brief moment of them screaming, they hit the ground with a thud, accompanied by a pair of groans.

"Come on guys. You just had to get stuck in a net? You're lucky I found you guys." Hiccup chastised as he pulled apart the net. "I can't believe I am going to ask this even when I said I wouldn't but, how did you guys end up there?"

"You see, me, Ruffnut, and Kassandra, were fixing a fence in Sven's yard which held all of his sheep-"

"Long story short, Kassandra may have 'accidentally' fallen into a patch of mud, subsequently allowing some of the sheep to run loose." Ruffnut finished.

"So while she stormed off to clean up or do whatever it is ladies do when they are dirty, we and Barf &amp; Belch went to go get the missing sheep."

"And we may or may not have stepped into an old dragon trap."

"Be careful next time guys, I won't always be there to-" Hiccup's scolding turned into a yelp as a thick rope wrapped around him, flipped him upside down, and suspended him high in the air. Hiccup was disorientated as his world literally turned upside down. He blinked open his eyes and realized he was swaying slightly, about 20 feet in the air.

"What the-"

"I think you stepped into another trap." Tuffnut pointed out.

"I think he knows that, idiot!" Ruffnut retorted.

"If he did he would've said something about it, obviously."

"GUYS!"

Both twins stopped their bickering and looked up at their chief.

"Get me down!"

Brother and sister looked at each other and nodded. Grabbing their chins in thought simultaneously, they tried to figure out a way to get their leader down. All the while, they were ignoring Hiccup trying to get their attention.

"I got it! We can get Astrid's help. She will know what to do!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Uh stupid, she can't do that. She has a kid, she is in a worse situation that he is! We can get Toothless!" Ruffnut countered.

"How are we gonna find a dragon who blends in at night?!"

Ruffnut slapped her hand to her face. She knew her and her brother weren't exactly the smartest in the bunch, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes and sigh.

"Just come on!" she exhaled as she dragged her brother with her, away from the forest.

"Wait wait wait! You guys!"

"Don't worry Hiccup we will find Toothless!" Ruffnut shouted distantly.

Hiccup adorned a defeated look upon him, and gazed down, then to his left and right. He tried squirming but that seemed to make things worse. He realized he was tiring himself out more quickly struggling, so he gave up and went limp. He tried calling for his dragon a couple of times but it didn't work. That meant, he was either really far away or doing something.

"I just had to help them." Hiccup said to himself.

Meanwhile, back in the village, Toothless was walking around the village, making sure the dragons weren't getting into too much trouble. Usually, he had no qualms about this, but ever since they defeated Drago and the Bewilderbeast, it had been hectic. All of Valka's dragons moved in, increasing the total dragon population by a few hundreds. There obviously wasn't enough room on Berk, so about half of them relocated to the forest surrounding the small, bustling village.

Truthfully, that wasn't the biggest concern on his mind. Dragon tensions were usually short and resolved themselves one way or another, but this particular problem was difficult for Toothless. It was Raeya.

He didn't know what to make of it. He didn't know how to express himself. Yeah sure, he could be affectionate when he wanted to be, but he was sure it would creep her out if he did it to her. Usually, dragons gift their potential mates with gifts, letting them know they were interested and wanted to make something more out of it, but all Toothless could conjure was a half-eaten Tuna.

She ate it, but Toothless was sure she ate it out of pity. Or maybe she didn't. Toothless groaned and shook his head quickly. He couldn't think of what else to do. He wish there was a definitive answer, but when it comes to mating, usually there wasn't. Wherever he looked, he saw dragons enamored with their mates. Heck, even the the smelly, big, hairy Vikings could find mates better than he could.

Then again, there were many to choose from. If a male Monstrous Nightmare got rejected by a female, he would simply move on to the next one until he found a suitable mate. It didn't work so easily with Night Furies. In all of his travels, he has only seen two Night Furies. Well, technically two and a half.

There was Windwalker. He didn't like her at first. She did attack his village for no obvious reason. He liked that she was very objective and impartial about most things, and he had to admit she was attractive. Although, she was very grouchy. Then again, she was fighting a war during the time. Toothless deduced war would probably make anyone be that way. But he stopped thinking about like that when he found out she and Tenor became mates. Tenor was a male, so that was simply out of the question. All that was left was Raeya and to him, she couldn't have been a more perfect candidate.

The way her scales glistened in the light. The way her beautiful green and blue orbs sparkled whenever she was happy or determined. Her voice. Her laugh. Her personalityㅡshy, yet bubbly and caringㅡwas unlike that of most dragons. Gosh, his heart fluttered, but his mind repressed that. He couldn't love her. Love was rare these days, but he couldn't deny he felt something for her. A need to protect her, even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself. He simply couldn't fathom the irrationality of it all.

"_I guess that's what lo-"_

Toothless stopped walking as he forced himself not to finish the sentence.

"_You barely know her Toothless."_

"_Well we are growing closer."_

"_She won't mate with a stranger."_

"_Well I am not a stranger."_

Toothless frowned to himself. Why was he even having this argument? It didn't help that he was arguing against himself. He already had this argument!

His train of thought was broken when he heard several grunts and groans ahead of him. He looked up and saw Snotlout and Eret, arguing.

Toothless rolled his eyes. "_What are they up to?"_

With nothing to do, Toothless trotted over to the bickering men. They were so wrapped up in their argument, they didn't see the black dragon approach them. Toothless looked back and forth we between Eret and Snotlout. His eyes narrowed in annoyance and roared at them loudly.

"Hey, this is perfect! Toothless, would you please tell Eret that it's his turn to haul the cart up the hill!" Snotlout shouted.

"Oi! He doesn't even know who did what. Besides, from my stay here, everyone knows you are always the one who never does his fair share of work. So you push it up the hill!" Eret snarled back in his thick accent.

"Uh no! I did that last time!"

"No you didn't you lazy bum! You were dozing off with your dragon while me and Skullcrusher were gathering the wood! That's how it works! One of us and his dragon go get wood and pile it onto the cart and the other and his dragon haul it up the hill then that pair goes and fetches the wood!"

Toothless quickly snarled and gave both of them death glares, effectively shutting them up. They both pulled back in fear, Snotlout more so than Eret. The Night Fury huffed and rolled his eyes. He went around the front of the cart and picked up the rope in his maw. With a grunt he heaved forward, dragging the cart full of heavy logs forward. To any human, this would be a laborious task, but to a dragon like him, this was a breeze.

"_Wher ish that 'uman uf minesh?"_ Toothless questioned as he looked around with a mouthful of rope in his maw.

He would deal with his rider later. First he had to get this pesky cart up this hill. Within a minute, he was at the peak of the hill. He dropped the rope once he saw Skullcrusher and Hookfang lounging lazily a few yards away from them.

"_Hey Toothless. Why are you hauling up the cart?" _Hookfang ask.

"_Because your riders were getting awfully annoying, bickering over who's turn it was to pull the cart up the hill."_ Toothless exhaled.

"_Oh yeah, I forgot about that. You see, we decided to take a break when they started arguing. It's been about 20 minutes since then."_ Skullcrusher remarked.

"_And it didn't occur to you two that maybe if one of you just hauled the cart and continue on with your task?"_ Toothless asked dryly.

"_Trust me alpha, we tried. They did not want us to get involved, because they were 'handling it like men' whatever that meant."_ Skullcrusher replied.

"_Besides, the task was getting tedious, so we decided why not. It's not like we could screw up moving logs from the forest to the center of town. It is too easy. Why not take a break before dying of boredom?" _Hookfang explained.

"_Well perhaps if you just focused on the task at hand and take care of those little situations, you would have completed this task much sooner and would be enjoying your leisure time instead of taking a break like you are right now. The quicker you get this done, the sooner you have more time for yourselves."_ Toothless slightly chastised.

"_Our alpha has a point."_ Skullcrusher told Hookfang.

"_And why didn't you guys just fly the wood directly to here instead of stopping to put it in a cart, just to haul it the rest of the way here? That seems more work than necessary."_ Toothless pointed out.

"_Vikings are just as stubborn as dragons. My rider was whining like a hatchling to do it his way and I did not have the patience to argue."_ Hookfang answered.

Toothless closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed. It was at that moment that Raeya landed a few feet away from them. When Toothless saw her he immediately tensed and looked away, trying to seem busy.

"_Hello. I hope I am not interrupting anything."_ Raeya said.

"_Not at all Raeya."_ Hookfang answered.

"_And how are you today?"_ Skullcrusher asked.

"_Not bad, and you?"_

"_Well today could be better, but I'm not complaining."_ Raeya shrugged.

Toothless was lost in his thoughts. Why had Raeya decided to come now? He didn't even know what to say. He hoped he looked presentable. Since when has he ever cared about how he looked?

"_Toothless!"_

That snapped him out of it. He looked up and saw all 3 dragons staring back at him. "_Yes?"_

"_I said: what are you doing Toothless?" _Raeya reiterated, looking at Toothless.

Toothless blinked and pulled back a bit. "Uh-uh, nothing much. I mean-I don't know. I was ca-carrying these logs-" However, Toothless stopped when he heard a groan and a crack. As Toothless was talking, he unconsciously stepped backwards until he was close to the cart. As he was finishing his statement he swung his tail sideways, making contact with the cart. It shook the cart backwards, and rolled down the hill quickly. To make matters worse, Toothless' left paw was inside the place where he dropped the rope so when the cart rolled down, the rope snagged on his paw and dragged him down the hill.

Toothless roared as he roughly slid down the hill. He dug his claws in the ground, but he got no traction whatsoever. He knew that he hit Eret and Snotlout when he heard their high-pitched screams and grunts pierce the air. He looked back but could do nothing as the cart crashed head on into another cart full of fish. The contents of both carts flew into the air. A second later it was raining fish and logs, hitting Toothless a bit as he recovered from the crash.

His vision blurred a bit and his head throbbed momentarily. When his vision focused he saw Hookfang and Skullcrusher roaring with laughter while Raeya looked concerned and approached.

"_Hey are you-"_

"_Yeah don't worry. I'm fine."_

"_Wouldn't it be better to go to that dragon healer?"_

"_Serenity has enough on her plate as it is. I just need to relax and walk it off."_ Toothless said quickly before dashing off. He stumbled a bit as he rounded the corner of a building, but he made a successful escape. The pain didn't bother him as much as the embarrassment of the situation. Here he was trying to prove to Raeya he was a smart, strong dragon when he just showed otherwise.

"Way to go Toothless, you really wowed her." he said to himself. His ears twitched slightly when he heard something familiar. It was faint, but familiar. He heard it before. As he tuned in, the noise became more audible and clearer to him.

"TOOTHLESS!"

He tensed. It was Hiccup! He was in trouble! Without a second thought, Toothless sprinted into the woods

Hiccup groaned. He was tired and his head was starting to hurt. He figured the twins would forget about him, so his only option was to call for Toothless. He was voice was becoming raspy at this point. A headache was starting to form. He closed his eyes and groaned, praying to Odin someone would answer.

A roar shook him out of his stupor. He glanced up and saw Toothless looking up at him from below.

"Toothless! Oh thank Thor you're here! I got caught in a trap bud. Shoot the rope and get me down!" Hiccup pleaded, wiggling.

Toothless roared softly, analyzing the rope. Squinting his eyes a bit, Toothless aimed and fired a small plasma blast. The blast instantly severed the rope and caused Hiccup to plummet to the ground, screaming. With a quick jump, Toothless caught him in mid air, thudding and rolling to the ground with Hiccup in his protective clutches. When the dust settled Toothless opened his eyes and gazed at his rider. His rider looked a bit uneasy but overall safe. Toothless crooned and licked his face a couple of times.

"Yeah yeah bud. I want to explain, but not really." Hiccup said as swatted the tongue away. He slowly got up and out of his dragon's paws. "Let's just go home."

Toothless leaned down and obeyed, waiting as Hiccup clutched his head a bit before mounting him, locking his prosthetic into place, and flying out of the forest with him. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one having a bad day.

"_When are we going to set your plan into motion?"_ Moonfyre asked as she joined her mate atop a cliff.

"_Soon. In about 2 days from now, when the sun sets."_ Sylerion answered, looking over the edge of the cliff.

"_Good, because I grow tired of entertaining the Draconians."_ Moonfyre hissed "_They are a bore after 10 minutes."_

"I know how they are and thanks to you and our children, we have enough information to get them right into our clutches." Sylerion nodded, never tearing his gaze away from what he was observing.

"_Don't worry, this will be easy."_ Moonfyre soothed.

"_It will be if everyone does their part. You will be able to subdue them, right?"_ Sylerion asked as he looked into the sickly-green orbs of his mate.

Moonfyre stepped forward and gazed down at the bottom of the cliff, watching the dragonets and the human girl playing in the woods.

"_Too easy, my mate. Too easy."_


	19. Chapter 19

**hey guys! It's been awhile I know. Let's just say college is a pain. But anyways now that the semester is over I should have plenty of time to write and update more frequently. Thank you to all who still read my story. I know it must suck being left in the dark for 3 weeks or so. I deeply apologize for that. Anyways, enjoy and have a happy holiday!**

As Chris started to adjust to his previous life, he noticed something that was off. To him, this didn't feel right. Every time something negative was ever discussed amongst his "family", his wife Serenity would always cringe and reel back in fear. It puzzled him to no end. For instance, whenever they talked about fighting, she would literally tense up and almost cry.

Why would she cry? Was she afraid of fighting? It wasn't just fighting. War, death, etc., the reaction was all the same. Chris remembered when he was relearning how to fight, she watched him intently and looked like she was going to pass out. It seemed like she was hurting herself more than he was, even though he and his opponent were perfectly safe. This annoyed Chris. For as long as he can remember (which wasn't that long), no one acted like this. He even asked around and was told that she was the only one who acted like this. When he asked the Draconians, they all gave him the same answer: she had a horrible childhood.

"Okay, so what?" Chris asked himself.

Every time she acted this way, one of his "family" members was there to comfort her. But to Chris, this happened to often. It's like she needed protection 24 hours a day, 7days a week. Chris was wondering how an individual can act so...weak. His train of thought was interrupted when he overheard some shouting coming from the top of a hill. He looked up and saw the two black dragons, Tenor and Windwalker arguing with everyone else watching. He glanced to the right and of course Serenity was there, hugging herself and close to crying.

_"Hatchlings aren't old enough for mates!"_ Windwalker seethed. Chris saw everyone taken aback by her comment. Re and Aurora's eyes were wide while Tenor looked confused. His previous rage quickly diminished.

_"Wh-what do you mean by that?"_ Tenor sounded quietly.

_"I think you know what I mean." _Windwalker chided before she turned and spread her wings wide before taking to the skies. Everyone saw her took off. Not one sound was uttered. The silence was broken by Tenor sobbing. He slumped to the ground, completely distraught. He was trembling, trying hard to breathe through the tears and sobs.

Then Serenity approached him, tears streaming down her face as well. She sat down on her knees and hugged his head. Tenor's head moved limply, seemingly not aware of his rider's touch. Chris looked annoyed, wondering why Serenity was crying as well. He didn't mean to sound insensitive, but this only affected Tenor. This in no shape or form, affected Serenity. But firstly, Chris was wondering what just happened.

2 hours prior to that, Windwalker landed in the spot where she usually met up with Rhyax. For the past days, she realized that Rhyax was acting weird around her. He would sometimes get quiet or stutter. She would notice that he would steal quick glances at her when he thought she wasn't noticing. She wanted to know why he was acting strangely. She turned around when she heard the flapping of wings and a thud.

_"Hey Windwalker."_ Rhyax greeted as he flapped his wings to keep them from cramping up.

_"Hey."_ Windwalker said as she turned around and faced him.

_"So what do you want to do today?" _Rhyax asked.

_"Actually, I want to ask you a question."_

Rhyax tilted his head in confusion. _"Oh? What is it?"_

_"Well, are you okay?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You've been acting weird lately. You sometimes stutter when you talk to me, become quiet at random times. Is something wrong?"_ Windwalker asked.

At the mention of this, Rhyax tensed up and turned away slightly.

_"See! You are doing it again! What's wrong?" _

Rhyax glanced between her and the ground beneath his paws before letting out a long sigh. He turned to face Windwalker, a somewhat neutral look on his face. He approached her and was close to her face. Windwalker pulled back slightly, wondering what he was doing. She was taken off guard when he nuzzled her cheek.

_"I have been hiding something from you Windwalker. Something I should have told you before." _Rhyax said softly.

Windwalker pulled back quickly. She was dumbfounded by his action. _"W-what do you mean?" She had a hunch about what he was going to say and she prayed she was wrong. _

_"I like you Windwalker. I think you are fun, enjoyable, and just a beautiful dragon. You aren't weak and know how to take charge. You aren't afraid to speak your mind and are very rational and collective. You. Are. Perfect." _He smiled.

Windwalker's heart was racing fast. She groaned slightly. She dreaded that this would happen.

_"Rhyax...what do you want me to say? That I like you back?"_ Windwalker sighed. Her eyes drifted downwards.

_"Well I would love to hear that, yes. Come on, you can't say that past week we haven't been having fun. I know you loved racing with me, and fishing, and flying, and everything. You were happy with me."_ Rhyax said.

_"Yes I did, but that was all in good fun. That's what friends do! I did that because I wanted to spend time with a long lost friend!" _Windwalker exclaimed.

_"Well I don't just want to be your friend anymore."_ Rhyax admitted.

_"Rhyax no, I can't. I have a mate."_

_"Oh come on. What does he have that I don't? For crying out loud he is not even a full Night Fury! He's a hybrid. A freak! Why would you want that?" _

_"You know what? He is a freak. He has never been normal and never will be! He will always be a hybrid! He is completely mad, and weird, and the like! Nothing more and nothing less. You are completely right about that."_

_"However, I'm going to tell you a secret." Windwalker added after a moment. "All the best people are! Why would anyone want to be normal and boring? I will tell you what he has that you don't. He has MY heart. He had my attention and my love. He was able to see me for who I truly am. Yeah, I'm not stupid. I know many see me as this cold, ruthless dragon who everyone fears. War does that to people. Tenor was able to see past that. He is helping me overcome that horrible time in my life, and for that I forever grateful to him." Windwalker spoke from the heart. _

_"What do you mean? I was able to see past that. I was able to connect with you! You let me in those few years ago and you were doing it now!"_ Rhyax argued back.

_"Yeah, you did. But you left, remember? It always confused me how a grown adult Night Fury decided to go back to his parents. I mean I understood that you probably wanted to keep in touch with them but you utterly confused me when you said you lived with them and freely chose to go back on your own. Last time I checked, once hatchlings reach maturity, they leave the walked out on me Rhyax."_ Windwalker growled.

_"Because you told me you didn't want me! I asked you to be my mate and you said no! What was I suppose to do?"_ Rhyax shouted.

_"I told you no because I was in the middle of a war! I was not going to get you injured or any other innocents! I could divide my attention on a lover while I was in charge of a war. You don't know the stress of having to boost morale into your troops, dealing with the loss of brothers and sisters, watching them die in front of you. At that time, we were losing the war and bringing you into it probably would have gotten you killed too. I couldn't get you killed too."_

_"That's why I'm so cold and heartless. I don't want to watch the ones I love suffer and die! My parents died and now I fear Chris will as well. The more people you love, the weaker you are! Enemies will use that against you. The 3 people who matter the most to me are my rider, my mate, and my daughter. I fear for them the most, even though I don't show it."_ Windwalker said, almost on the verge of tears.

A moment of awkward silence ensued. Windwalker was breathing raggedly, trying to calm herself down. Rhyax stared between her and his paws, shifting uncomfortably.

_"So...you did like me."_ Rhyax said quietly.

_"Did I like you? Yes. Was I going to chase you? No."_

Rhyax gazed down at the ground, many thoughts were going through his head. _"So how did Tenor win? You told me how he helped you in the war and how you became mates after that. Why him?"_

_"I honestly don't know. I wanted to distance myself from him believe me. War was my top priority, but with Tenor it was something different. Something unexplainable. I can't really describe it, but when I gazed into his eyes something clicked. I tried being cold and ruthless, but it didn't work on him. He was very stubborn. But I did hurt him, like I did you. He came back though and ended up saving my life." _Windwalker thoughtfully explained.

_"So I have to save your life huh?" _Rhyax thought.

Windwalker sighed. _" made me realize that no matter how hard I try, some things won't always go my way. No matter how good a leader I thought I was, dragons would still die under my watch and lives would suffer. Much like no matter how hard he tried to be likeable and charming, he would always be shunned because of his appearance. He made me realize that we can't go around trying to control our lives. Only when you realize that you will never be in control of your life, will you be content. He made me realize stopping a war shouldn't be my top priority, but finding peace. With those humans, and within me."_

_"I think that's why he is why I am his. Throughout everything I experienced, he was there by my side. Just like I was there by his side. That is why he is mine. That is why we are mates."_

_"Okay...what if we shared you?"_

Windwalker was taken aback by this. _"Excuse you?"_

_"What? Some dragons don't mate for life. It's not a rule. It's a preference. We can-"_

_"No, stop, before you make things worse. This is where I draw the line. You're right, dragons don't mate for life. It is a preference. It's my preference. It is Tenor's preference as well. You are a friend. Don't make yourself a foe to me. If you are desperate for a mate, then leave and find one. While Night Furies are rare, they do exist. Look hard enough and you will find a female that suits you, who isn't taken."_

_"Now I'm going to leave and clear my head, it would be wise to not bring this topic up for discussion again. Goodbye Rhyax."_ Windwalker added quickly when she saw the male Night Fury about to open his naw. Windwalker quickly turned around and took to the skies, leaving Rhyax to his thoughts.

Tenor flew briskly through the treetops, landing in a random clearing. Re wished to discuss Chris' amnesia without worrying him, but wanted everyone to be present. Thus, he volunteered to go searching for her, knowing that she was probably out with Rhyax.

He didn't trust that Night Fury. But, Windwalker trusted him, and Tenor trusted his mate. He sighed as he picked up her scent and followed it. Her scent was faint but after a slight breeze flew past him, it got stronger. He used his nose to follow the scent of his beloved, twisting and turning around the trees as he got closer.

Her scent was strong as he rounded a large boulder. He heard voices, one of them was his mate and the other was Rhyax. They were far enough to where they were just out of his hearing range. He turned the corner and gasped as he saw them nuzzling each other. He ducked low so that they couldn't see him. He was breathing hard and fast, upset about what he saw. His ears twitched as he heard some words like '...like you back…' and 'you loved...me'.

What had Windwalker done? Had she been seeing Rhyax behind his back? Doing things she wasn't suppose to be doing? Many irrational thoughts, along with denial coursed through his head.

_"No, she wouldn't. She loves me, right?" _Tenor told himself. He crawled forward to try to make out their conversation better.

_'You know what? He is a freak. He has never been normal and never will be! He will always be a hybrid! He is completely mad, and weird, and the like! Nothing more and nothing less. You are completely right about that.'_

When he heard Windwalker say that his heart shattered into 2 pieces. He tuned out the rest of the world as the world around him faded to black. He grew up always being told that. That he was nothing, a weirdo; a freak. Something that should exist. It was hard but he pushed through. Actually, Windwalker helped him realize he was more than that. But now, she was saying he truthfully was a freak and was never normal. Tenor couldn't wrap his mind around it. He didn't notice the tears streaming down his face.

Of course he was nothing! He couldn't believe he ever thought of himself as normal. He knew he was different but figured if he tried hard enough he would be just like the others. It looked like even his beloved mate thought of him the same way. He guessed she didn't love him after all. Tenor sobbed quietly, not knowing what to do.

It was after a minute that a dark thought entered his mind. He was nothing. He would never amount to anything worthy in this life. He was tired of everyone reminding him of that. He was tired of getting pushed around. He growled lowly in anger.

Not today. He would expected this out of a random stranger but from his own mate? He couldn't fathom it. No. He simply didn't care about fathoming it. He was tired of being inflicted by pain. Perhaps it was time to inflict pain.

_"Alright Windwalker. You want to be like that? Let's fight fire with fire."_ Tenor seethed, his sinister idea guiding his body. He snorted angrily. He then left the clearing, unnoticed as he set to put his idea into motion. He chuckled as he flew towards Berk, reveling in the thought of Windwalker receiving the short end of the stick. His eyes beamed with dark intent as his eyes fell onto his prize: Raeya.

Windwalker had many thoughts jumbled in her mind. They were all battling for her attention. She shook her head roughly and breathe deeply, calming herself. She needed to talk to someone about this. She needed comfort. She needed someone who could listen and understand. She needed Tenor.

When she arrived in Berk she quickly scanned the bustling village for her beloved mate. She trotted around until she ended up in the plaza. There she saw Tenor chatting with Raeya. He gazed briefly at her before resuming his chat with was there too, dividing his attention between his rider and Gobber, and Raeya and Tenor. Toothless didn't look happy. Windwalker was confused but decided not to press it. She turned her attention back to her mate and was about to speak up when her heart shattered.

Tenor nuzzled Raeya's neck and cheek, purring a bit. Raeya was caught off guard by this and was stunned. Toothless tensed before roaring in outrage and quickly dashing over to the pair, pouncing on Tenor roughly and clawing at him.

_"Back off! She is mine to claim! She is not yours! Mine! You have a mate, get lost!"_ Toothless seethed viciously. Windwalker's vision went red. She snarled and lunged at Raeya.

Raeya barely had enough time to react as she saw a blurry figure rush at her to the right. She barely dodged one claw swipe to her face before she was butted head on in the stomach, sending her flying into a nearby house. She groaned as she tried to recover. Her eyes widened as her eyes focused on Windwalker charging at her. She would have took another hit but was shielded by Toothless who deflected Windwalker's attack effortlessly. The rolled around and bit each other before breaking up and circling each other slowly, snarling and gnashing their teeth. They were about to attack when a wall of fire burst between them, stopping them.

_"What is the meaning of this?!" _Re roared as he and his mate landed between them.

_"Your stupid captain attacked Raeya!"_

_"What? Is this true Windwalker?"_ Aurora asked sternly.

Windwalker snarled and turned to face Tenor, who gazed back at her and gave her a smug, ugly look before flying away. She was on his tail a split second later. Re and Aurora were following them 2 seconds later.

Toothless growled lowly until they were out of sight. Only then did he let out the breath he had been holding. He looked around and noticed some of the villagers were looking at him, confused and a bit scared. Even his rider gave him looks of confusion.

"Bud?"

Toothless was going to walk up to him, but was met with an angry glare from Raeya.

_"What? What's the matter?"_ Toothless asked.

_"What did you mean by 'she's mine to claim'?"_ Raeya asked heatedly.

Toothless pinned his ears back. He blushed a bit from embarrassment.

_"That...that slipped out. I didn't mean to-"_

_"I am not your property. I'm not something to don't owe anything to me and I certainly don't owe anything to you."_

_"Raeya I-"_

_"Let get something straight. I am not a piece of meat. You down own me! Oh, so you think you're entitled to me because I'm a female and you're a male? We are not mates. Just because we are the same species doesn't mean we are obligated to each other. To fill some instinctual role."_

Raeya stomped off before spreading her wings. She looked back over her shoulder and scoffed. _"I thought you were different. Turns out you are like all the other males."_

Toothless gazed at her sadly as she flew away, his heart growing heavier by the second. He crooned sadly, not caring about the whispering all around him by the onlookers. He didn't even register his rider yelling to get his attention. He was lost.

Tenor landed on top of the hill, where Serenity was sitting in her chair. She beamed when her dragon landed near her.

"Hey Tenor." She smiled. It quickly dropped when she saw his expression. She was about to ask more when Windwalker landed quickly. She stomped up towards him.

_"What in Draco's name was that?!"_ Windwalker snarled.

_"What was what?"_ Tenor said neutrally as he turned to face her.

At that moment, Re and Aurora landed beside them.

_"Stop acting stupid. You know what. Nuzzling that damn female. What in the hell was that?"_

_"Oh so I can't nuzzle dragons?"_

_"No you can't just go around and nuzzle dragons! If I hadn't stopped it where I did, you would have licked her!"_ Windwalker exclaimed.

_"So what if I would have?" _

_"Tenor!" _Aurora gasped, shocked.

_"You don't do those things to another dragon, especially another female dragon when you have a mate!"_ Re chided.

_"What?! Oh, but it's okay when Windwalker does it?"_

_"What are you talking about?!"_ Windwalker asked.

_"Oh don't act innocent. I saw you nuzzling Rhyax earlier, acting all lovey dovey. Let me guess, you were playing me all along haven't you?"_

_"What?"_ It was then that it clicked in Windwalker's head_ "You were eavesdropping?"_

_"No, I was going to get you because Re needed all of us. You just happened to be doing all those things when I arrived!" _Tenor seethed.

_"Is that true Windwalker?" _Aurora asked.

_"You only see things you want to see! You know but than anyone else I hate it when people eavesdrop. But what makes me angry is when people assume. That really pisses me off!"_ Windwalker growled lowly.

_"How could I be eavesdropping?! You weren't doing anything to make that conversation private at all. What exactly am I getting wrong? You only nuzzle when you show affection. From what I saw, you didn't see disgusted at does he have that I don't? Oh wait don't answer that. I don't want to know. I never thought my mate would make fun of me and cheat on me behind-"_

_"I WOULD NEVER CHEAT ON YOU! HOW DARE Y-"_ Windwalker bellowed but was cut off by a roar.

_"NO, HOW DARE YOU BREAK MY HEART AND DO SUCH...SUCH EVIL THINGS!"_ Tenor screamed on the verge of tears.

Windwalker roared and pounced on Tenor. At least she would have if Aurora didn't stop her with her magic. An invisible wall separated the two.

_"Aurora stay out of this!"_ Tenor hissed _"I'm tired of being pushed around."_

Aurora grimaced sadly before lowering the wall. Windwalker gave up trying to claw her way towards her mate. She was crying, her paws shaking.

_"It sucks right when the person you love the most hurts you deeply. The betrayal, the agony. Now you know how I feel. I figured you would love to know what I felt when I saw you with Rhyax. That's why I was affectionate to Raeya." _Tenor explained in a mocking tone.

Windwalker's tears stopped flowing after that. She pursed her lips together, swallowing her emotions. She raised her head and gazed at a nearby tree.

_"I'm done."_

_"What do you mean 'I'm done'?"_ Tenor scoffed.

She slowly leered at Tenor. The hybrid saw nothing in her eyes. Her once warm, gold eyes were a sickly dead yellow, devoid of anything he once knew.

_"If only you know the truth."_ Windwalker said disturbingly soft.

_"I already know-"_

_"Stop. You know I understand how we argue. I understand that we do things to make each other mad, but this, what you did, I just can't tolerate. You purposefully showed affection to another female, to make me jealous, to hurt me. I can't fathom it. I want to tell you what happened back there. What truly happened. That's why I came to see you in the plaza, to talk about what Rhyax did."_

_"But you don't care. You want to act stubborn. Fine. You want to shout over me. Fine. You want to win this argument. Fine. You want to not let me explain myself. Fine. Go ahead and assume. I don't care anymore. You want to act like a hatchling. Fine. Just so you know, hatchlings aren't old enough for mates!" _Windwalker lamented.

_"Wh-what do you mean by that?"_ Tenor sounded quietly.

_"I think you know what I mean. I'm not going to explain myself to a hatchling. Talk to Rhyax, maybe he'll indulge you."_ Windwalker chided before she turned and spread her wings wide before taking to the skies. Everyone saw her took off and not one sound was uttered.

Tenor's heart broke as his love flew away until it became nothing but a speck in the sky. What had just happened? What did he do? What did she do? It all just happened so fast. It hurt him thinking about it. Tears became a constant as he sang his sorrow. He didn't know what to do. All he knew now, was that he was mateless.


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi guys! First off let me just say how dissapointed I am in myself for not uploading another chapter in like 1 1/2 months. Honestly things just came up with school and other stressful stuff that I just didn't have the time to do this. But I decided to make it up to you guys and make this chapter really long. I hope I did a good job guys and I hope you enjoy it. The following chapters will be lengthy as I am trying not to draw this out and have a bunch of pointless chapters that don't further the plot. With that being said, let me just say that while you guys may be perplexed with the direction this story will take, I assure you it will make sense in the end. I want to explore some culture and develop some themes and this direction will help that. Please let me know what you guys think of it. I love y'all's feedback!**

Chris stared in silence as he watched the argument unfold. He certainly didn't expect the female dragon, Windwalker, to certainly leave dramatically, breaking it off with her now ex-mate, Tenor.

Not a word was spoken. The only sound was Tenor crying. Chris looked upon his broken form. The black dragon hid his face under his paws. Re and Aurora were silent. Serenity would have been silent too, yet she was crying too.

Chris' face twisted into one of annoyance. He scoffed. Aurora picked up on her son's new demeanor.

_"What's the matter?"_ Aurora asked.

She was greeted with silence as Chris walked up to Serenity who was standing away, crying and silent. Serenity looked up when she saw her husband walk up to her. She sniffled as he came close, wondering why he looked upset.

"What's wrong?" Serenity asked, fighting back the tears.

"You, is what's wrong." Chris responded. Serenity tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you…" Serenity said softly.

"Why are you crying?" Chris asked flatly.

"B-because they were fighting a-and arguing." Serenity stuttered.

"So you are telling me that the problems of two other dragons personally affect you?" Chris asked, confused.

"Well, it's just that...that they shouldn't do that."

"They shouldn't do what exactly?" Chris pressed.

_"Chris what are you doing?"_ Re asked.

"How else should they solve their problems?" Chris asked.

"It's just, I don't like fighting. It's horrible. You know why I don't like it." Serenity responded, touching the faint scar on her cheek.

"Yes I'm aware of your childhood. And?" Chris answered.

Re and Aurora looked at each other, befuddled.

"What do you mean 'and?'" Serenity questioned.

"I'm saying if you don't like the negative, the fighting, the arguing, the bad, whatever it is, you shouldn't be here, near dragons!" Chris exclaimed.

Serenity pulled back from shock. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that you act like a child when it comes to adult situations. Whenever someone argues, even when it's a small one, you start tensing and become anxious. Whenever two dragons are sparring….SPARRING, you get really nervous and look like you wanna throw up. Sparring is suppose to be physical. How else would they be able to defend themselves?" Chris berated.

Serenity was starting to cry again. Re saw this and decided to intervene.

_"Chris that's enough."_ Re stepped in.

"No it's not!" Chris shouted back as he faced Serenity again "She needs to stop acting like a hatchling."

"I can understand how one can be scared, I get that. But you Serenity, you act like everything is out to get you, afraid of the world. You look away when things get bad and cry and whine and run to daddy for comfort, hiding under your dragon's wing, or you faint. You always run to the dragons for comfort, letting them deal with your problems for you. You let them shield you from the world, being content in your bubble. Well wake up Serenity, what are you going to do when they are gone, huh? Who's going to protect you then? You can't even defend yourself! You get scared and run away and hide. That's all you ever do, and someone else has to look out for you because you seem incapable of doing so on your own."

Serenity's mouth dropped in sadness, covering it with her left hand as she gripped her stomach with the other. She felt sick.

"You always were delicate, too delicate. Any little bad thing that comes your way, you act like it's the worse thing in the world and say it's because of how your birth family treated you. Well GROW UP SERENITY. So what you got mistreated badly? Deal with it! No what anyone says, you have let your past influence you. You let your fear and your anxiety dictate your life, running away when something bad happens, or crying or whatever. You always do that, acting so damn sensitive to everything around you. Grow up Serenity. You need to stop living like that. If something bad happens to you, there is no point in just taking it and crying about it and letting it run its course. You stand up to it, you fight back, and you never let it control you. You become strong instead of remains docile and submissive. Nobody wants a person like that. Nobody wants a weak person, a hatchling like you."

Serenity's heart was slowly tearing apart. She was shocked and confused and scared. Why was Chris acting like this? This wasn't the Chris she knew and loved.

_"Chris that's en-"_ Aurora growled but was cut off by her son.

"No. You need to stop shielding her when the good gets ugly. She is not a hatchling."

"On top of that you can't even defend yourself. Instead you just let it happen to you and cry about it afterwards, complaining you are used to it. If you can't accept the fact that bad things are always going to happen and stand up when things go bad, then I don't know how you are going to survive in this world. In fact, you shouldn't have, considering all I just said. However, like myself, we were spared by the dragons. Yet, I can defend and take care of myself. You can't. You always need a dragon to do it for you."

"You are just...confusing. You hate violence and fighting, yet you associate with dragons who do that naturally. I don't know why you help others when you can't even help yourself." Chris said with finality.

Serenity's heart shattered at that point. Everything went hazy. Tears were flowing at that point and she sank to her knees as she couldn't find the strength to support herself.

_"Chris! Look what you did!"_ Re snarled, coming face-to-face with his son.

"What? I was telling her the truth, what she needed to hear, I wasn't insulting her." Chris retorted.

_"I can't believe you!"_ Aurora said, disgusted.

"Look, don't believe me or not. We all know at least half of that is true. You can't keep being protective of her. She has to learn to stand on her own two feet, and I don't mean that literally!" Chris shot back.

_"That's your wife for Draco's sake. You hurt her Chris. And furthermore, I don't like the tone you are using against your father and mother!"_ Re growled.

Chris' eyes narrowed. "Don't ever refer to me as yours. You don't own me. And it's not possible for me to be your son. It's not normal. I'm human. You are dragons. It's just…" Chris fumed. He shook his head as he started walking away.

_"And where do you think you're going?!"_ Re roared, sparks flying out of his mouth.

"I can't deal with this...just leave me alone." Chris said as he stormed away.

Re and Aurora would have followed him, but they had bigger concerns. Two of their family members were emotionally distressed and need comforting. Re went to Serenity and Aurora to Tenor. They both wrapped a wing and nuzzled their respective person.

_"It's okay Tenor. I'm sure she will come back. It's all just a big misunderstanding. It will be over soon."_ Aurora said softly.

Tenor kept on crying, oblivious to his friend's comfort.

'Everything will be over soon.' Tenor thought as he opened his eyes and tried to calm himself down.

'I hope it's a misunderstanding.' Aurora thought as she patted his back.

_"There there Serenity. He is just talking nonsense. He doesn't remember anything. That's not Chris. He will remember everything soon."_ Re cooed as he nuzzled her face.

Serenity was deadly quiet. At that point, she ran out of tears and was calming down. "You're right. Thanks Re." Serenity said softly. At that point, something inside her changed.

Just then, Eret and Skullcrusher landed quickly and approached them. The Draconians all looked toward the newcomers.

"Oi, uh, sorry if I'm interruptin', but Hiccup needs you all to meet 'im at the Mead Hall immediately." Eret said in his thick accent.

_"Why?"_ Aurora asked as she got up.

"We have foreign ships upon the horizon, and they brought a whole fleet with them."

Aurora and Re looked at each other before the king sighed. _"I'll go. Stay here with them."_

Aurora nodded as Re gave Serenity one last nuzzle before spreading his wings and following Skullcrusher and Eret, leaving Serenity with her dragon and the Queen.

Hiccup was standing in the hangar, a thoughtful look on his face as all the Vikings and dragons around him were rushing past. He looked up when Eret and Skullcrusher landed with Re in tow.

"What's the problem Hiccup?" Re asked.

"I just got word from some scouting dragons that there are so ships coming from the northeast and are due to hit Berk in about one hour." Hiccup informed.

Re looked over at Toothless. Something seemed off about him. He had a hardened look on his face as he stared at the ground. He looked a bit solemn. Re couldn't figure out why but decided not to press it.

"There sigil is unlike anything I have seen before and their ships are oddly shaped. They aren't Berserkers, or Dagur, or any other dragon hunter that I know of. Point is-"

_"We don't know who they are or what they are capable of."_ Re deduced.

"Exactly."

_"So what do you propose we do?" _Re questioned.

"Normally, if I knew who they were like a neighboring tribe, I would welcome them with open arms. However, they are strangers to these waters. Mapping their trajectory, they are headed for a straight shot here. I thought they were just passing by but they haven't changed course, so I'm assuming they are intending to land. I'm going to give us the benefit of the doubt and treat them as dangerous. The riders are guiding the rest of the village to hunker down just in case they decide to attack us." Hiccup explained.

_"Very strategic of you. What's my role in this?"_ Re asked.

"I need you to be there as an intimidation factor."

_"How so?"_

"I'm going to present the village as if there were no dragons at all and ask why they are here. If they get hostile, I want you and Toothless to shake them up a bit. Don't hurt them, but scare them. You think you could do that?" Hiccup detailed.

Re glanced at the Night Fury. _"Sure we can do that. Let me explain it to him."_

_"Hey Tooth, Hiccup wants us to scare away the enemy if they become hostile."_ Re explained, however it seemed the Night Fury alpha wasn't paying attention.

Toothless was in a benumbed state of sorts. Everything around him phased him as he was consumed with heartbreak and defeat. In his head, Toothless kept on ramming his head into a boulder over and over again, lashing at himself for being so stupid. He shouldn't have said that. He couldn't believe he did say that.

_"'She's mine', like that didn't creepy at all."_ Toothless mumbled.

He crooned softly in sadness. Everything for the most part was going, smoothly. Not necessarily smooth, but it wasn't going bad. He felt confident that perhaps in another week or two he was going to ask her how she felt, of course after presenting her with the biggest fish he could find. He had to impress her! Even though most of his attempts haven't really been working. And now he ruined it all by saying that one stupid line! She was gone now. There was his one chance of finding someone like him. Someone he could call a mate. Someone he could love. Maybe he was destined for this. He was sure that he was the first dragon ever to befriend a human and it was basically taboo back then, they did it anyways and grow close enough to be brothers. Perhaps this was the universe's sick way of getting even.

Toothless sighed. Who was he kidding? Hiccup basically befriended every dragon he met. If it was forbidden, then no dragon wouldn't even go near him, even if curious! Toothless' head started to hurt from the copious amount of thoughts flying around in his head. All he knew for sure was that his crush…as much as he didn't want to admit it, the one dragon he had his eyes on was gone and he didn't know where she is.

_"Not like she wants to see me after that."_ Toothless murmured defeatedly.

_"Toothless!"_

Said dragon picked up his head and turned to the new voice. It was Re and both he, his rider, Skullcrusher and his human were looking at him.

_"What?"_ Toothless asked.

_"I said would you be willing to do this? You know, scare some humans away like we used to back before dragons and humans befriended one another." _Re responded.

_"Oh yeah."_ Toothless glanced down real quick before looking back up. Of course we can."

Re relayed the answer to Hiccup before turning back to him. He wanted to say something but Hiccup interrupted them.

"Alright, let's get going. We don't have a minute to spare." Hiccup declared as he jumped up onto Toothless' saddle and departed with his dragon. Re spread his wings and flew off in a different direction.

The waters were silent as 3 Roman longships docked into the ports of Berk. Made of a light wood, these ships had a curved wooden tail on the sternpost while the stempost had the wooden head of a sea dragon. The sails were vertically striped red and white in thick bands. The oar ports were lined with red and blue shields. Oars jutted out from the strakes of the boat. Unlike the other 17 ships that were docked further out into the sea, these 3 had flags atop their masts.

With one foot on the railport, between two shields was a light tanned foot. Shielding itself from the wood was a dark brown, leather sandal which weaved together and danced around his foot and ended halfway on his shin. The back part of the sandal also had a thicker strip of leather that went halfway up his shin. The same sandal was on his other foot as well. The man was wearing a red, woolen tunic under his metal shoulder plates, chest armor, and tanned, fit physique. Clipped to his shoulders was a long, flowing red cape. He wore a leather belt that was separated with gold and silver connectors alternatively. It sheathed his dagger on his left hip while it housed his long sword on his right. Lastly, there was a thick, rectangular groin protector hanging in that region, beating gold rivets forming rows and columns on the silver metal. He had his metal helmet with a red, feather mohawk lining it under his right arm. Whenever in battle, it would cover his short, brown hair and matching beard as well as most of his hardened face. It didn't cover his mouth and deep blue eyes. He was in the center ship as they ported. As head commander, he always had to be in the lead ship alongside his strong, yet lower-ranking brothers.

Alastair was silent as he surveyed the high cliffs of the village. It was very hilly and most of the houses were built on different elevations. He glanced at the wooden dock and how it snaked up the cliff side and branched out to different sections. It was quiet. Too quiet.

"Be on your guard. This village seems either abandoned or hiding. Either way, that is not good for us!" Alastair bellowed to his brothers. The rest of the armada gave grunts of affirmation as they relayed the information to the rest of the fleet.

Alastair jumped over the boat and landed on the docks with a resounding thud. His head snapped up to the cliff above as he thought he heard a shift. He quickly dismissed it and walked warily up the ramps, twisting and turning as he picked the way towards the middle of the village.

When he reached the top of cliff he was taken aback by the site. He was greeted to the sight of a grand crowd of burly, hairy men and women. They all wore dark colors and most wielded axes and other vicious looking weapons. He counted heads and lost count after one hundred or so. He glanced back to the small crowd that was comprised of the men in their head ships and subsequently followed him. He and his other commanders were on top of the ground as the rest were still on the ramps, still as they waited for the next signal from their superior. These people were also on higher ground so coupled with the fact that they were also in the tight, cramped space of the dock ramps, they were at a disadvantage. He calculated that with the other seventeen ships out at sea, he could take the village easily but first he had to do this diplomatically.

His eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on a lone, tall, and slender man with long, brown hair. He had leather armor on and had what looked like a weirdly shaped prosthetic leg. He was a couple of steps forward from the crowd and had his arms folded. Alastair noticed that some of the crowd glanced at him before glancing back at his group. Alastair could only assume that this man was their leader.

Alastair too separated himself from his group. He took about 3 steps forward before standing up straight.

"Greetings! My name is Alastair and I am the leader of this fleet. We hail from the vast and powerful Roman Empire that is many moons away. We wish to find one of own as she is a traitor to the country and must be punished as so." Alastair announced.

The crowd as well as the man looked at him and murmured amongst themselves. The thin man looked at his crowd before facing Alastair and giving him a shrug. The Roman leader read his body language and his confused expression and realized that they didn't understand him.

"Well that was worth a try." Alastair sighed. "Bring out the translator!"

The Roman crowd parted as a shorter man with thin, gray hair emerged. He stumbled a bit on his grey robe tied with a golden chord as he made his way near Alastair. The timid man glanced up at the unblinking face of his commander before facing the foreign crowd.

Hiccup was confused as a smaller man appeared beside the tall, foreign man. His focus on the latter was disrupted as the short man spoke a myriad of random noises and guttural noises. It was much more weird and random than the language the taller man used. He was perplexed by his actions until his ears caught the phrase "Hello." His ears perked a bit as the man spoke his language

"Hello? You speak our language?" Hiccup answered back. The man's eyes brightened a bit as his stature relaxed a bit.

"Yes I do. None of the others can speak various languages like I can because they are not scholars like myself. I am an interpreter." The man humbly responded in a subtly squeaky voice.

"Well, alright. Who are you, and who are these people?" Hiccup gestured to the crowd ahead of him.

"Oh yes, my sincerest apologies. My name is Nadir and I, as well as the rest of my party, are from the great Roman Empire. I am translating on behalf of the affairs and concerns of the lead commander, Alastair. We apologize if we may have disturbed you all. May I ask who we are addressing?" Nadir smiled and nodded slightly.

"My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and I am chief of the Berkians located on the Isle of Berk in the Barbaric Archipelago. This is my village and these are the villagers." Hiccup declared.

Nadir nodded and relayed it to his commander. Hiccup frowned slightly when he saw Alastair pull back and glance at him confused before speaking to Nadir again.

"Alastair says you have a peculiar name and that he didn't expect a man of your...physique to be a leader." Nadir chuckled nervously.

Hiccup scowled. He rolled his eyes as he heard Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout snicker behind him.

"I get that a lot. Anyways, what are you guys doing here?" Hiccup asked.

Nadir leaned back as he took in Alastair's words before translating. "We have come looking to apprehend a criminal. We have followed her trail and she has come along this direction. Have you happened to have seen this girl?"

"Well I can't answer that unless I know what she looks like."

The Romans murmured to themselves in their dialect before Alastair gave a bellow and gestured with his hand in a forward motion. A soldier with leather armor came forward and handed Alastair a scroll. Alastair unrolled it and showed a detailed sketch of a woman who looked very familiar to Hiccup.

The Berk chief scrunched his brow in confusion before turning his face to the crowd, specifically his fellow dragon riders. They glanced at each other and talked amongst themselves.

"We haven't seen this person before. I haven't had any reports about a girl who fits this description." Hiccup said flatly.

Nadir regarded Hiccup with a neutral expression and relayed what he said to Alastair. Alastair looked up at Hiccup while he spoke.

"Interesting. My scouts have said that with this being the only island within a 100 mile radius, she had to have dropped by. So either, you really don't know what's happening on your island or you're hiding something from me." Alastair thought out loud.

Hiccup frowned. "Well from my point of view, you either have bad scouts or you are wasting your time trying to get an answer you want out of me."

"So you aren't lying to me are you? Because you seem like a wise man, Hiccup. Wouldn't it be foolish for you to sacrifice the welfare of your people for one little, tratorious girl? It would be a shame if I found out you lied to me and your village would have to suffer because of that. My men and I have been traveling far and wide for this girl and you should give us any information that relates to her. I mean, you are telling me that you were able to see our ships coming from the horizon but didn't catch the ship of this girl? Seems very unlikely to me." Alastair explained. His deep voice, coupled with the sharp, foreign diction he was using gave him an eerie ambiance behind him.

Hiccup's face scowled a bit. "Was that a threat?It would really be a shame if you threatened me and my village. I I hope that wasn't the case. You do not want to get on these villager's bad side. And no, I haven't seen this girl. Why would I lie to you? If she is so important to you all, how did you come to lose her in the first place?" Hiccup argued.

"Her importance to you is none of your concern. And I'm not threatening you. All I am saying is that it would be unfortunate if you lied to us and your village had to suffer for it. Just so you know, those catapults on my ships have a very long range and can deal heavy damage. Your choice." Alastair growled, however Nadir's voice seemed to be a bit shaken as he translated it.

Hiccup stared at Alastair before turning back to his friends. He glanced at them as they gave him nods while others shook their head, especially Fishlegs.

"Tell me Alas-whatever your name is. Have you ever heard of dragons?" Hiccup asked.

Nadir looked stumped at the question and looked back at Hiccup questioningly before translating to Alastair. The commander's face shifted as well.

"We have seen those flying beasts, and have conquered them easily!" Alastair boasted.

"Oh have you now?" Hiccup asked with a bit of sarcasm now.

Alastair grimaced. He didn't know where this conversation was going and he didn't like it one bit.

"Look I don't have time for-"

"Our village was plagued with dragons a few years ago. They kept on stealing our livestock and destroying our village. However, I made peace with them and now they are our friends." Hiccup stated.

Nadir was baffled as he hesitantly told Alastair. When the head commander heard this, he busted out laughing. Nadir laughed on nervously.

"Dragons? People? Together? I never took a chief to be a fool. Then again, your people and your way of life are barbaric." Alastair spat. Nadir looked down as he interpreted that last part.

The rest of the village looked enraged. Some started yelling and others raised their weapons. Alastair placed his hand on his pommel but stopped when Hiccup raised his hand, silencing his crowd.

"You see. There are two things you need to know about Berk. First, never insult my people. Not only is it rude, but I can't stop all of them if they want to rip your head off. Two, we have…" As he started that statement, a cacophony of roars filled the sky in a thunderous chorus. The Romans were on high alert, as they tensed up and raised their shields and spears up above them. Alastair shouted at them to get in a tight formation, although his command was somewhat drowned out by the roars. As they formed up, the most shocking thing happened.

Hundreds of dragons fell from the sky and dove towards the village. A myriad of black, yellow, green, red, and blue scales covered the sky and converged on Berk in an aerial tsunami. Dragons big, small, tall, and wide perched themselves on rooftops while others were more comfortable on the ground. All were baring their fangs and flapping their wings in angst. All that could be heard was growling and snarling.

Alastair looked on in shock as monsters encircled his troupe. He looked back and some of his men were saying prayers and were wobbling on their knees. He looked back at his fleet near the bay. He tried to send a signal but it looked like they weren't responding. In fact, he noticed some where sinking and were kicked by flames. His eyes widened as 3 more boats sank. As he focused more, he realized that some silhouettes were buzzing around and flaming his ships.

"Dragons!" Alastair muttered. His mind was jumbled as he was surrounded by the flying beasts. His face went blank as he heard a roar that silence all others. He turned around and was greeted with the sight of a black, sleek, and very angry dragon. It had piercing green eyes that could rip apart your very soul. It sauntered down the middle of the crowd as the dragons and Vikings parted to make room for him. His mind was thrown for a loop when he saw what looked like a saddle and other mechanical things rigged to the dragon. Said black dragon stopped when he was right next to Hiccup and snarled fiercely, crouching low. Alastair's world turned upside down when Hiccup extended his hand to pet it before mounting it.

"Dragons make excellent companions. Not only are they kind, loyal, and smart, they can be really protective of their nest. And Toothless here, doesn't really like you. If I were you, I would take you and your fleet and leave Berk and never return. The dragons you see before you are just a fraction of the ones on our side. And you don't want to anger a dragon, trust me." Hiccup declared valiantly.

Alastair looked at his men, Hiccup, the remainder of his fleet, and back to Hiccup. His eyes shot to Nadir as he elbowed him in the side. Nadir jumped as he was pushed forward. He looked back as Alastair started speaking before beginning to translate.

"You w-will not see the last of us. You have made a grave mistake threatening the R-R-Roman Empire." Nadir translated. Hiccup felt that that was a threat but Nadir's scared tone made out it as nothing but a squeak.

Alastair bellowed a call before his men scurried down the ramp and back to their boats. Nadir gasped as he realized he was being left behind and hurried along to catch up. As Alastair deported the docks and sailed back to the remaining ships, he glanced back up the cliff. His eyes narrowed on Hiccup as he and his tribe glared back down at them from the edge of the cliff.

"I will make you pay, Hiccup Haddock III." Alastair swore.

Hiccup let out a huge sigh as the last of the Roman ships disappeared over the horizon. Shouts of 'we did it!' and 'Vikings rule!' rang out over the crowd as the Berkians bellowed out cries of victory, followed by the copious roars of the dragons.

Hiccup dismounted and was soon pelted on the arm by none other than Astrid.

"Ow! Jeez what was that-" Hiccup complained but was soon lip-locked with his wife.

"Do I ever need to give a reason to kiss you anymore?" Astrid smiled as she pulled back from the kiss and met Hiccup's stunned glance.

"Uh, no, but for the punches, kinda…" Hiccup exhaled.

"Just be grateful we don't have Hagen here and he is safe. I thank the Gods your mom was willing to take care of him when the going got rough." Astrid said.

"Yeah. My mom only really gets involved when the livelihood of dragons are at stake and had no qualms staying behind when I told her we were going to overwhelm these Romans using a surprise attack." Hiccup explained as he wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Yeah. I just hope we don't have to deal with these Romans again."

"I'm sure we won't. If they come back, we will be more than ready." Hiccup smiled as he leaned back in for a kiss.

"I must say, that is a very interesting way of showing affection Astrid." Kassandra said as he went up to them. "Women never really make contact with men in that way. They only do so in an area down south." Kassandra smirked.

Hearing that sly remark caused both Vikings to blush and separate from each other.

"Oh no need to stop being fruitful!" Kassandra laughed.

Her laughter was cut short when a roar came followed by the form of Re landing next to them.

_"Well that was fun."_ Re said as he tucked his wings back in.

"A-anyways, thank you for telling me about the Roman ships." Hiccup thanked.

"Roman ships? What do you mean?" Astrid asked.

"Oh yes. When I told the village about the ships that were coming, Kassandra asked about them."

"I only did so for I feared the men from my lands were coming back to capture me, and I was right. Before I hid, I had to tell Hiccup what he was going up against." Kassandra spoke "The Roman Empire is strong, there is no doubt about that. However, the same cannot be said about their naval force. Those ships are built to withstand other enemy ships. They are not designed to fight dragons. A small flock of dragons could easily sink a fleet of 15 ships."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Hiccup commented.

_"Ah yes. The information was very useful. I expected more of a fight but they didn't have anti-dragon weapons. Still, it was nice giving them a scare!"_ Re chuckled.

"Yeah, you were right about them wanting to capture you. I wouldn't worry about them coming back. Now knowing their strength, I think they won't lose a threat of they choose to fight us again. And that leader really was annoying and cocky, more so than Snotlout usually is." Hiccup added

"Who was their leader by the way?" Kassandra asked.

"Some guy named Alastair."

Kassandra's face darkened. "Did you say Alastair?"

"Yes. Why? Do you know him?."

Kassandra just stood there with an expression of pure shock. "That...that was my brother...

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Your brother?" Astrid asked, skeptical.

"Short brown hair, beard, blue eyes…" Kassandra listed. Hiccup nodded slowly

"I can't believe he actually came out to capture me and bring me back home. Boy, he must be as mad as Zeus to actually come and find me. He rarely takes matters into his own hands. Now I definitely don't wanna return now." Kassandra said solemnly, having a far look on her face.

An uncomfortable silence ensued

"Well, anyways, I plan to go with Snotlout and Eret so that I can help with the logging. Not that I have much of a choice in the matter." Kassandra asserted.

"Okay. Do that." Hiccup agreed. The chief turned to the Dragon King. "Thank you for leading the charge."

_ "Oh, no worries. It was nice to get back into action again."_ Re smiled before he spread his wings and left. A few seconds later, Kassandra left to do her task. As Kassandra left, Hiccup couldn't help but notice the scowl on Astrid's face.

"What's the matter?"

"Do you still think she can be trusted?" Astrid inquired.

"I think so. She's been working as hard as the rest of the Vikings here. From what I have seen and from what our friends have told us, she puts 100% effort into her work. If she didn't honestly want to stay, she wouldn't have done so. It seems she genuinely wants to stay here as a citizen. I have told her of the other places in the Archipelago and she seems content with ship wrecking here." Hiccup remarked.

"That's good and all but I don't know, Hiccup. I just have a bad feeling she is hiding something, that's all." Astrid said with uncertainty.

"I think you are just worrying too much."

"Need I remind you of the Heather Incident." Astrid countered.

"Okay but that was different. Heather didn't have much of a choice. Her family was on the line and don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same if you were in her boots." Hiccup responded.

Astrid was silent as she looked away. "Look, it's just a gut feeling okay. I could be wrong, but that's just how I feel."

"And I don't blame you for being so protective of the things you love. That's one of the many reasons why I love you." Hiccup grinned.

"What are the others?" Astrid purred.

"It's a pretty long list."

"I don't mind sitting and listening to your poetic words." Astrid feigned a lovely sigh as she drooped into her husband's arms and threw her head back dramatically.

Hiccup laughed alongside his wife for a good while. While all that occurred, they failed to notice Toothless leave their presence.

The Night Fury was sulking as he walked in the woods, passing trees and bushes without a care. The sight of Hiccup and Astrid showing affection really bothered him today. He couldn't explain it, but it just made him sick.

His mind drifted back to Raeya. Gosh, he wished he could do something, talk to her. However, he didn't know what to say. Let alone, he couldn't even find her at the moment.

_"What am I supposed to do?"_ Toothless asked to no one in particular. His mind dwelled on his options before a boulder appeared out of nowhere. He blinked a couple of times before he realized how far he was. He realized he was on the other side of the island. Well, truly he was about halfway. He was near a outcrop of rocks near the northern shore of Berk. It was about one minute away if he ran. He temporarily forgot what he was doing before he realized he walked in the woods to forget about Hiccup and Astrid's affection. Toothless rolled his eyes as mentioning it brought the awkward feelings he felt. He gazed up at the orange streaks, mixing with the soft blues of the sky. Toothless realized he would have to turn back soon.

"Help!"

Toothless went on alert as heard a faint cry. His ears perked as his eyes darted all around. Things suddenly became awfully quiet. His ears twitched when he heard a subtle shuffling to his right. His thick muscles tensed as he sprang forward and dashed through the woods. Sometimes when the terrain became difficult to traverse, he would jump from tree to tree to avoid being slowed down. When he got near the coast he stopped to assess the scene in front of him.

A group of men were tying up Chris. A few others were scattered around the beach. He was moaning under his gag and struggling against his restraints but to no avail. Toothless looked quickly at their armor and ship and realized they were the same men he and Hiccup faced a couple of hours ago.

Toothless roared loudly as he sprinted out of the tree line and fired a plasma blast at the group, sending all of them flying a few feet away. 2 men approached from the right with their spears raised. Toothless quickly head butted one into the other, knocking them both out. Another 3 swiftly rushed to the left and Toothless countered them with a tail swipe. He looked around and was about to fire a plasma blast at the ship before he felt 3 sharp pains in his neck. He grunted and tried to get a view of what hit him but his vision blurred quickly. He shook his head as he head became heavy. He whined as his feet became wobbly and stumbled to his right. He tried to keep his eyes open but realized he was losing that battle. The last thing he saw was a blurry grey-and-red form approaching his head before his vision blacked out and his form dropped upon the yellow sand.

Gallus smirked as the dragon slipped into unconsciousness. He picked up his spear and used it to nudge the dragon near its neck where three darts were jutting out against the black scales.

"Man! These dragon tranquilizer darts are very handy! I'm glad we traded with those dragon trappers awhile back!" Gallus explained as he held up the blow dart tube in his other hand. He wore similar armor to Alastair, only he didn't have a cape. He had sandy blond hair and was built like an ox.

"Gallus, what are we to do with the dragon?" A foot soldier asked him.

Gallus turned and faced the soldier. "Bring it back to the Empire alongside the man. He can easily be bought and sold as a slave and I'm sure the arena would love a new beast for its gladiators to fight against." Gallus grinned darkly.

The foot soldier nodded as he got a few others who were recovering from the dragon attack to help him tie up the dragon and begin hauling it towards the ship. Gallus heard a muffled grunt to his right and looked to see what it was. He chuckled as he saw the struggling form of Chris trying his best to wiggle away, barely moving a few feet. Gallus marched over and placed his boot on Chris' back, immobilizing him. He leaned in close as he locked eyes with the fearful gaze of Chris.

"Don't worry. You will love it back in Rome. Not only will you enjoy being a slave, but you will be an excellent trading chip for Kassandra. She will be mine, at any cost." Gallus smirked before stabbing Chris with an extra dart. A few moments later Chris was knocked out.

"Sir, what about acquiring Kassandra? I thought that was what we're here for?" another foot soldier asked him as they finished hauling Chris and Toothless into the hold of the ship, chaining them below.

"We were, until we found out they had dragons living amongst them!" Gallus seethed. "We couldn't just barge in there and take her during our recon yesterday! Are you stupid? That's suicide!"

The soldier shrieked under Gallus' gaze. "I'm sorry sir, I was just wondering why we have a man and a beast in the hold."

"Gosh, I feel sorry that you were not properly educated. Since we are clearly outmatched, we have to get them to play on our terms. That means that those two are our hostages. We take them back to Rome where we are stronger there and use them to get Kassandra back. If not, we use them as slaves. If they get rebellious, we just punish them or kill them. It's not that hard to understand." Gallus scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

"Now let's just go before these barbaric savages come looking for these two." Gallus commanded as he approached the stern of the ship. He smacked his spear against the two chains that trailed off into the water. Immediately, the chains tightened and the water around it jostled before dragging the boat through the water quickly. Two Tidegliders were chained underwater and tugged the boat across the ocean back to familiar waters, far away from the shores of Berk.


	21. Chapter 21

A commotion woke Chris up. He groggily opened his eyes to darkness, dim light fading between the cracks of what was wood. He sat up and registered his surroundings as his mind became fully conscious. He couldn't tell how long he was out. He phased in and out of consciousness. It felt like days to him.

He was inside a ship. At least he thought he was. He heard a couple of shouts and grunts from outside him to the left, where the wall of the hull was. He scrambled to the wall but paused quickly as he realized he was immobilized by rope around his extremities. Fortunately, that didn't stop him from working his way to the wall–as tiring as it was–and pressed his ear tightly to the wood. Course, foreign language could be heard. It sounded like grunts, yet it rolled off the tongue so fluidly.

He shook his head. He shouldn't be focusing on the characteristic of a language right now! He needed to escape! His head darted left and right, looking for a way out. His eyes scanned quickly to find nothing but boxes of wood and other cargo. However, his eyes settled on an object that shifted. It was a big, black mass, and covered in chains. Chris couldn't really distinguish it as its dark form easily mixed with the darkness of the hull, but as his eyes adjusted he realized it was a familiar dragon.

"Toothless!" Chris cried out.

He wormed his way over to him, scrunching up his body this way and that and alternatively rolling before after an exhausting four minutes he reached the unconscious dragon.

"Toothless!" Chris said as he shook the dragon.

Toothless winced, but didn't wake up. Chris heard footsteps above him, stomping towards the front of the ship where he was at.

"Toothless wake up!" Chris shouted as loud as he could without alerting his captors. He pulled on the dragon's ear flaps roughly and that seemed to do the trick. The dragon's eyes shot open, thin as slits, and he thrashed at his attacker, swinging his head at Chris unknowingly.

Toothless stopped when he heart a grunt followed by a thud. He glanced at the one who rudely woke him up and was surprised to see Chris.

"_What's going on? What are you-" _the Night Fury stopped as he realized he was muffled by a muzzle and was wrapped in chains.

"We got captured Toothless! We need to escape now!" Chris whispered harshly as he recovered from the blow.

No sooner had he said that, the hatch to the hull flung open, streaming bright light into the hull. Chris and Toothless shielded their eyes. As their eyes adjusted, they realized men were pouring in.

"είναι ξύπνιος (they are awake)" one soldier shouted. Three men cornered Chris while six focused on Toothless.

"Get away from me!" Chris shrieked as they closed in on him. He wormed and fidgeted all around to no avail. They easily grasped his body and lifted him up. Chris still didn't give up without a fight. His mouth was near one of the soldier's head. He reached forward with his neck and firmly bit down on his right ear.

The guard shrieked as he brought his hands up to pry Chris off of him; It alerted the other two guards. The one in the middle slammed his fist into the side of Chris face before he finally released the pained man's ear, stunned by the blow. His mouth was a bit bloody, but not by the punch. It was from the man's ear which was halfway dangling from his head.

The soldier cried out in pain as he released Chris to tend to his wound. The other guards proceeded to get Chris for their own safety. Meanwhile, Toothless was thrashing as the guards tried their best to hold him down. He tried to roar but his muzzle prevent that. He kept bucking each soldier off until he felt two pricks along his back. He cursed as he quickly fell unconscious again. Chris turned to look at the man who shot him and it was none other than that man who captured him on Berk. He was accompanied by a taller man with a red cape.

Gallus scowled as he glanced at the two captives; he eyed Chris mostly. Alastair grinned sinisterly

"καλά , δεν είσαι ένας μαχητής (Well aren't you a fighter?)" Alastair mocked as he got right in Chris' face. The capture human moaned against his gag.

"Είστε σίγουρα gonna κάνει μια εξαιρετική προσθήκη για οίκου μου (You are definitely gonna make an excellent addition to my oikos.)" Alastair smirked before punching Chris in the gut.

"να τον πάει στο οίκο μου στην Αθήνα και να αφήσει τη γυναίκα μου ασχολούνται μαζί του (Take him to my oikos in Athens and let my wife deal with him.)" Alastair ordered. Gallus nodded and directed the two other soldiers out of the ship. When they left, Alastair sauntered up to Toothless' laying form and crouched low.

"Ω το Κολοσσαίο θα σ 'αγαπώ (Oh the Colosseum will love you.)" Alastair sighed wistfully as he slowly touched Toothless' face, patting it. "τον πάει στη Ρώμη (Take him to Rome.)"

***8 days earlier***

Kassandra sighed as she walked through the woods. She was suppose to be helping with the lumber yet she used the simple excuse as to relieve herself to get away from those men. He mind was still absorbing that fact that Alastair was dangerously close to capturing her. She didn't think he would amass a fleet like that dedicated to solely finding her! She was silent as she weighed the impacts in her head. If she didn't land on Berk, she would've most definitely been captured, married her brother's friend, and knowing that she escaped the empire meant that her brother and her husband-to-be would have made sure she became a broken, docile pet to prevent that from happening again. If Berk didn't have dragons, all those people would have...Kassandra couldn't bare the thought. The recent encounter changed her paradigm about her brother. He was no longer a joke, he was deadly.

She stopped for a moment after wandering a bit into a wide clearing. The trees surrounding the clearing were still tall and looming, causing the clearing itself to be shrouded in shadows. Still, light filtered through the evergreen and spotted the ground with blotches of warm yellow. The colors contrasted with the chilly breeze that weaved through the dense thicket. Kassandra rubbed her arms as she shivered. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

Back in Athens, she was accustomed to the warmer, humid temperatures of the coast and of Greece. It rarely snowed, only getting a bit chilly come winter, but never to the degree she was experiencing now...and she loved it! Kassandra, for the first time, was able to breathe! Even though she was still a "prisoner" of sorts to Berk, she was able to do so much more than in Athens. Back at home, someone was always watching her and/or her sister-in-law was making sure she did her wifely duties and was presentable as a bachelorette. The only thing she could do somewhat, leaving the shackles of her oikos, was going to the market every now and then. She couldn't dream of exploring the fields near the base of the mountains outlining the borders of her village. Here, she was able to walk around and do something that matters! She was helping the village on her own accord...well not really but she was benefiting the village! Nobody was telling her she couldn't do this or shouldn't do that. The villagers, as brutish as they could be, were treating her with respect! It was by far the best feeling she had the pleasure of experiencing: freedom.

Of course she wasn't really free. That dragon–it was called a Night Fury–was watching over her. "It's…her name is Raeya." Kassandra mused as she resumed her walk.

Well, she didn't get to see much of that dragon. It's been about 2-3 days; The last time she saw her was before she fell in mud because of those annoying twins–Oh when she got her hands on those two!

It was...awkward to say the least. Raeya was assigned to keep watch over her but Kassandra made sure she got herself into no trouble at all. That left them in a state of weird silence. Kassandra didn't know what to do. She didn't even know what to say! Even if she did, she couldn't talk to the dragon anyways! It was very frightening to be in a place where she could get roasted or shredded to bits at any second, so she should feel tormented if one of those beasts were following her everyday. However, she didn't feel that way towards the Night Fury.

Kassandra couldn't say for sure that what she felt was exactly positive but over those short days with the dragon, Kassandra could definitely say she bore no malice towards the black dragon. She would say she felt neutral about the dragon, but that didn't feel right. It was more. It made her feel awkward, but she couldn't deny it. She liked having that dragon around. Raeya wasn't like the other dragons. Well, Kassandra hadn't really met a lot of dragons in her lifetime but the Night Fury was different. She certainly preferred her over the other dragons. Perhaps it was because Raeya had to watch over her that they got used to each other's presence. Whatever it was, all she knew was that she wasn't used to not having a dragon looking over her shoulder.

She was so distracted with her thoughts that she failed to notice a long branch near her height, smack into her left eye. She hissed in pain at the contact, breaking her out of her deep thought. As she rubbed her eye, she took in her surroundings and was amazed at what she saw.

A deep, and wide cove was right in front of her. A waterfall was located on the far end of it, while the edges were decorated with ornate branches slithering down the rock walls. She looked down and saw how there were a few groups of huge boulders while sparse rocks dotted the rim of the cove. Luscious green grass layered the ground. To simple put, it was awe-inspiring and beautiful.

"Woah…" Kassandra breathed as she blinked her left eye into focus. It looked even more amazing with two eyes open! She immediately scanned the cove for a way down and was elated when she saw jagged rocks in a diagonal pattern leading to the bottom of the cove. She immediately set forth on her little expedition. Two minutes later she was in the middle of the cove and looked up. It was...relaxing. The soft blue sky, combined with the greens and browns of the forest satisfied her mind. The soft chirps of the birds with the rushing water in the background provided a nice white noise. Just for a brief moment in time, Kassandra forgot about everything.

She never had anything akin to this back in Athens. Sure there were some forests and the coast, but all she really ever knew was the market, her oikos, and the endless fields of wheat and other crops. She never expected a brute Viking settlement to have such natural elegance such as this cove.

"I guess there always is a diamond in a rough." Kassandra commented.

While she took in the beauty, she meandered to a large rock, juxtaposed to an overhanging tree with its roots cascading down the rock wall. She noticed the patch of grass near there had some off-put discoloration. There was healthy green grass everywhere yet there seem to be a cropmark right in between the boulder and tree that had short grass. The patch had a weird, circular perimeter and the grass within had stunted growth. Kassandra looked up. The tree wasn't blocking the sun so there shouldn't really be a reason for this awkward patch of grass to be there. The dirt below it didn't really give her the benefit of the doubt either, but she wasn't a keen tracker or anything like some of the hunters back at the Empire.

If she remembered correctly, something had to be buried under that cropmark for the stunted growth in grass to occur. She only knew so because back when she was a girl and her brother was somewhat tolerable, he showed her how to find buried loot whenever they played "Treasure Hunt". That cropmark could only mean one thing.

Kassandra sank to her knees as she looked around for a shovel and found a sharp, triangular rock. "I can't believe I'm doing this. Like someone actually buried treasure here."

She jammed in the rock and pulled harshly, upturning the dirt, however, she made a superficial dip. She kept trying and very slowly did she excavate the hole. Barely fifteen minutes in and she was about a foot deep with the hole two feet in diameter. She was tired and sweating. She grunted as she felt the muscles

in her arms burn and had to stop about every fifteen seconds or so to recover. Her patience was wearing thin when more dirt greeted her. Frustrated, she yelled and slammed the rock hard into the ground. Her anger quickly morphed into surprise when she heard a metallic, yet muffled 'clank'.

Her eyes darted to the source of the sound and after careful scrutiny, found a small black protrusion. It wasn't jutting out if the ground, but an exposed piece of black metal ran evenly along the side of the hole. Her eyes lit up as she didn't expect to actually find something. She quickly wiped away more of the dirt and the black protrusion revealed itself to be part of a small spire. However, more curved pieces of metal were still embedded into the ground. Hastily re-arming herself with the rock, she dug more into the side of the hole where the object was buried. After another tiring six minutes, she tugged out her prize.

Kassandra was surprised to see a black, metal crown in her hands. It was a bit heavy and the bottom half was a thick black band while the top half morphed into a wreath-like form. Embellishments weaved and intertwined with each other from the bottom to the top of the crown and danced all around. At least she thought it was a crown. She had only seen Emperor Leo VI the Wise wear a wreath when he visited the surrounding villages when she was a little girl. That wreath was a symbol of their leadership–their crown. This crown was unlike anything she had seen before. It was very beautiful and mysterious. She was startled as she heard a roar from above. It swooped down fast and loped over to her.

"Raeya!" Kassandra exclaimed, holding the crown in one of her hands. She was greeted by high-pitched grunts and whines. The Night Fury's eyes were darting back and forth, specifically eyeing the crown. Raeya let out quick snarls, nosing her midsection.

Kassandra was dumbfounded when the dragon started nosing against her. The Night Fury had never done that before. She felt her nudge her arm and bite the crown. Kassandra pulled back before the dragon claimed her prize.

"No no Raeya. I found this crown hidden behind that rock. It's so different and beautiful! I don't know why anyone would want to bury this out here." Kassandra pondered as she held the crown up to the light. Raeya looked around anxiously and pranced around in her spot slightly, noticeably antsy.

"What's wrong with you? Something wrong?" Kassandra asked.

Raeya tried biting at the crown again. Kassandra pulled it away from her.

"Hey stop it! I found this crown fair and square! So I get-" Kassandra was cut off by an unfamiliar roar. She looked to her left and saw a green blur before she was knocked off of her feet. An enormous pressure was set on her chest, preventing her from moving.

Kassandra was stunned and had a hard time reorienting herself as her vision came back to her. She heard a low growl coming from above her.

"_So you are the thief who stole the crown, eh? I knew something was off about you."_ Re seethed "_Aurora, go get Hiccup." _The queen nodded as she took flight.

"Thief? What-" Kassandra started before she realized the situation she was in. She looked up and tensed at how close Re's muzzle was to her face. She was face-to-face with sharp, white teeth. She glanced down quickly and realized the weight on her midsection was the dragon's paw.

"What? I didn't even do anything!" Kassandra shouted frantically, trying her best to wiggle out of Re's grip.

"_You have the crown in your hand!"_ Re shot back.

Kassandra's head quickly shot to the black crown.

"Oh no no no. I found it buried near that rock by the wall! I found it! I didn't steal it, I swear!" Kassandra retorted.

Re growled and whipped the crown out of her hands using his tail-like whip. He curled the head piece in his tail as he looked up and regarded the Night Fury.

"_What happened?" _Re growled.

"_I was coming back from a fishing trip when I saw her here. I saw her digging at something and wondered what was she doing. I showed up and saw the crown in her hand. I tried taking it away but she wouldn't let me." _Raeya said truthfully. She felt uncomfortable, essentially ratting out the human–she wasn't the one who stole the crown and buried it! But she couldn't just tell Re the truth. At least not now. Raeya convinced herself she technically wasn't lying. She did show up–on her way back from fishing–see Kassandra with the crown down at the cove after digging it up, and tried taking it away from her. If Kassandra had the crown, then she would have ruined all their plans. But considering that her parents were putting their plans in motion, it didn't seem to matter at this point. Then why was she trying to save this human?

"Let go of me!" Kassandra quaked.

Re roared in her face, effectively silencing her.

"_What are you going to do with her?" _Raeya asked hesitantly.

"_Depends. Might imprison her. Let her rot. Kill her. Who knows. Maybe Hiccup has a better idea." _Re said in dragontongue.

Raeya pulled her head back a bit. "_Don't you think that's a bit much?"_

Re narrowed his eyes. "_Are you suggesting I let her free? I don't know where you come from, but criminals don't exactly walk away free after being caught stealing." _

A couple of moments later, Aurora returned with Hiccup and his friends in tow. Hiccup had to ride on the back of Aurora as he had no dragon to mount.

"Re, what's going on?" Hiccup questioned.

"_Kassandra stole Windwalker's crown!" _Re responded with anger.

"I didn't! I swear Hiccup!" Kassandra cried out.

Hiccup let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, I don't have time to deal with this. I need help finding Toothless. He has been gone for several hours and I don't know where he went. He rarely leaves my side, and he only does so when he has a dragon problem of his own to deal with."

Re growled. "_What do you mean 'I don't have time to deal with this'? A thief is a more pressing matter than a wandering-"_

"_Re! That's enough! Calm down." _Aurora barked in a firm, yet soothing tone.

Re snorted, smoke billowing out of his nostrils before taking a couple of breaths and looking back at Hiccup.

"_Fine, we will help. But what are we going to do with her?"_ Re gestured at the captive human.

Hiccup looked down at the fearful eyes of Kassandra. The Greek woman couldn't really judge the look on Hiccup's face. It looked indecisive and confused before it contorted to disappointment.

"Put her back in a cell." Hiccup said with finality after a brief pause.

"No...no no Hiccup please! You can't do this!" Kassandra pleaded.

"I can, and I will. I'll deal with you later. I have more pressing matters to attend to." Hiccup answered as he got back on Aurora.

Kassandra shook her head in denial. This couldn't be happening! She watched helplessly as she was tugged into the air and flown across the forest. She gave up struggling as her previous encounter with a dragon mid-flight ended badly. Soon they arrived in Berk, near the cells. She grew apprehensive as they drew closer.

Re splayed his wings as he landed, kicking up dust. He dropped her on the ground, watching her tumble. Kassandra coughed a bit as some stray dust found its way into her lungs. She looked up from the ground and saw the frowning, disappointed faces staring back down at her.

"I didn't do this...please." Kassandra groveled.

Hiccup shook his head as he nodded to Astrid. His wife understood and readied her axe, pointing it to Kassandra.

"Come on. Don't make this harder on yourself." Astrid said coldly.

Kassandra's face was a mixture of sadness, shock, and defeat. She swallowed her negativity as best she could as she stood upright and walked slowly with her head down, back to her cell. She didn't even turn around when the door slammed shut, seemingly for the final time.

"_Now what is this about Toothless going missing?"_ Re asked.

"I don't know where he went. Usually he is gone whenever he has a dragon dispute to settle, but he would've been back sooner. He has been gone for about five hours. He has never been gone that long before! The last I saw him was when those Romans came to our shores." Hiccup fretted.

"Calm down Hiccup. I'm sure he is safe." Valka soothed.

"Well wherever he is, he better turn in quick. Nighttime approaches." Eret commented as he scanned the fading horizon.

"_Well let's go looking for him." _Aurora decided.

Everyone suited up and began scouring the forests of Berk, hoping that the missing alpha would turn up.

They flew over the forests, scanning the green for any sign of the Night Fury. Raeya flew in the back of the group, getting more frivolous as time progressed. She glanced at the setting sun and knew once night fell upon them the plan would be enacted. She gazed back at the King and Queen, knowing that their lives were about to take a turn for the worse. She sunk her head in guilt. Why? They were just children? Was it even worth it anymore?

At first, she was for her father's plan of revenge. She hated the life she lived because of her eyes. She was fed up with the isolation and constant movement. But being here, in Berk, changed all of that. She was around dragons who actually wanted to be near her. They were warm and friendly and didn't mind her unusual eye colors at all. In fact, one of them _really _showed he cared about her, and what did she do?

Why didn't the dragons of Berk mind? Before, the other dragons did? Did she do something back then? What was different?

Raeya scrunched up her face in thought. Now that she thought about it, something seemed odd about the constant movement. If dragons came in all shapes and sizes, why would something as trivial as eye color matter to other dragons? Something wasn't adding up.

And now, her father's plan was all based on her difference, that the king and queen didn't help her family with the bullying. However, that was the previous King and queen. These current ones didn't even know about this. It felt strange to her that they would get to Re through his family. What would she get out of all of this? She realized her father just said they would get "justice" for their wrongdoings. The only thing that felt wrong was this whole plan...

Raeya's eyes widened. She realized that if she didn't act now, five innocent children would suffer the consequences!

The group touched down on the shores of a northern beach following Skullcrusher's lead. Snotlout looked around and grunted.

"There's nothing here!"

"Well obviously we have to do more than just glance around at everything." Hiccup responded slightly irritated.

The group began looking around for clues. Raeya stood near the back, thinking of how to appropriately say that the royal dragons' kids are in danger, which she played a part in.

"Skullcrusher did you get anything?" Eret asked as he approached his dragon.

The Rumblehorn grunted loudly as he pawed at the ground, revealing a small patch of dark red cloth. Eret picked up the sliver and dusted it off some more.

"Guys! We got something!"

Everyone rushed over to see what it was.

"What is it?" Fishlegs wondered.

"It's a piece of cloth." Astrid deduced.

"_What did you smell?" _Aurora asked Skullcrusher

"_I found a myriad of scents my queen. I smell wood, metal, leather, sand...however, there are three scents that are more distinguishable than others. There is blood, Toothless' scent and many humans...Chris being one of them."_

Re and Aurora did a double take.

"_What was that?" _Re asked.

"_I said your son was one of the scents I smelt. With all of the scents present, alongside the three I mentioned standing out the most, I can only guess that a struggle of sorts took place. Those other humans I smelt do not have the signature Viking smell to them. They smelt foreign for sure. Since I smell blood I'm assuming Toothless and Chris fought off these foreigners but eventually got captured. The wood, metal, and leather I smelt are scents common for a boat. I'm assuming that these foreigners have already left with them awhile ago." _Skullcrusher explained. Re translated for the humans.

"It has to be those Roman guys!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"Yeah! They probably slipped us a Loki and used the whole standoff thing as a diversion while another group was stationed out here!" Tuffnut added.

Everyone looked at them with bewilderment.

"They...actually have a good scenario. It's very likely that happened." Fishlegs agreed.

"_Okay, they couldn't have gotten far! If we gather some supplies, we can wait until tomorrow to begin a search and rescue party." _Re decided.

Everyone agreed to this plan and were about to take off when…

"_Wait!" _Raeya roared.

Everyone whipped their heads around at the Night Fury.

"_What?" _Re asked impatiently.

"_Y-you can't g-go. At least not now." _Raeya said uncomfortably.

"_And why not?"_

Raeya sighed, looked down, took a deep breath, before regarding Re again. "_Your children are in grave danger."_

Re and Aurora both pulled their heads back in confusion.

"_How are they in danger?" _Aurora asked. This got the attention of the rest of the group. All eyes were on Raeya.

Raeya swallowed in fear; she couldn't escape this. She knew her true face will be revealed.

"_Because my family is capturing them as we speak. They are going to use them as hostages." _Raeya admitted, after an uncomfortable silence.

"_WHAT?!"_ Re and Aurora bellowed in unison. The dragons gasped in unison while the humans stood there perplexed.

"_Look, I can't explain it right now. We need to locate your children before my family does. Now come on!" _Raeya urged. Re gave a quick, angry roar before facing the humans.

"_Hiccup I'm sorry, but we have more urgent matters. My kids are in danger! Toothless...and Chris, have to wait." _Re said frustratingly.

"What? I don't un-" Hiccup started.

"_I don't understand either! There's a lot going on right now and now I-we have to make a tough decision, especially since we're leaders. Now, my children are in grave danger apparently because of Raeya's family. I'm not going to argue over this! Now let's go!" _Re seethed as he bounded into the air.

Everyone else was silent as they saddled up swiftly and joined him in his search, hoping they locate the children in time.

Chris groaned as he opened his eyes and was met with a dim light. He blinked a few more times and looked around. Again he was in a new, foreign environment.

"What?" Chris noticed he was in a small, wooden enclosure. There was only enough room to stand as the three walls closed him in. He looked down and noticed that he was on a small, slightly dirty mattress of sort with a thin sheet tossed to the side. Part of his mattress had a hole in it and some hay was sticking out of it.

What really grasped his attention was his attire. He wasn't wearing his black pants, boots, and jacket like he normally wore. He was now wearing a large brown tunic with a rope tied around his waist, securing it. Off to the side of his bed were some wooden sandals.

"What the…" Chris said as he picked at his garments.

Quick shuffling outside alerted him. Just then, two men clad in the same fashion as he was appeared in his doorway and looked down at him. One started talking to him in a weird language. He looked skinny and had short brown hair. Chris could only stare at him in confusion. The first one let out a short grunt before murmuring with the second one who also had short brown hair. They both nodded before they leaned down and grabbed Chris by his arms before dragging him up and out of his confines.

"Hey stop it!" Chris yelled as he thrashed in their arms. His attempts were futile as they took him outside and into a pavilion. The two slaves held him still.

"Let go of me!" Chris shouted. The two men held him in place. One of them hissed in his language. An unexpected, fluid voice pursed his lips.

Chris looked to his right and saw a beautiful blonde woman approach. She was tall, had tanned skin, amber eyes, a symmetrical face, and wore a soft white gown that tumbled down her legs. Her gown was lined with gold and had a complimentary golden chord secured around her waist.

Chris was speechless as she approached and faced the three. She said something in her language before the two men released him. Chris scowled at the two men before gazing at the woman again. She smiled as she started speaking in her weird language. Chris titled his head at her perplexing words.

"I can't understand you. What's going on? Where am I?" Chris pleaded.

The woman shook her head and smiled again. She said it again but much slower this time. Chris shook his head a second time. The woman sighed before pointing at her chest, muttering a single word before pointing at her chest again. She repeated these motions over and over. The word she said became a bit more clearer.

"Lucia" Chris repeated hesitantly.

The woman's eyes lit up and she repeated the motions with renewed vigor. Chris instantly made the connection.

"Your name is Lucia."

Now Lucia repeated the motions, instead she pointed to him. Chris was stumped for a brief couple of moments before he connected the dots.

"My name...my name! My name is Chris. Chrriissss." He gesticulated as he spoke.

Lucia now tilted her head in confusion. Chris repeated his name a few more times but Lucia just frowned.

"Christoforos." Lucia uttered.

Chris brought his head back. "No it's Chris, not Christoforos."

"Christoforos."

"Chris."

"Christoforos!"

"Chris!"

Lucia barked a command and the two other slaves restrained Chris in an instant. Lucia grabbed Chris' jaw in one hand and squeezed his cheeks together.

"ακούσετε εδώ και να μάθουν καλά . Χριστόφορος είναι το όνομά σας και θα αντιμετωπίζονται ως τέτοια ! αν δεν σας αρέσει , καλά , ας πούμε τα πράγματα δεν θα είναι ευχάριστες για σας (listen here and learn well. Christoforos is your name and you will addressed as such! if you do not like it, well, let's just say things will not be pleasant for you)." Lucia purred dangerously as she pulled back.

"Δεν ξέρω τι ο σύζυγός μου είδε σε σας για να σας κάνει σκλάβο μου , αλλά καταλαβαίνω θα μπορούσατε να έχουν εργαστεί στο μυαλό ή Κολοσσαίο . Είναι ευγνώμων. Να τον καθαρίσετε τα αποχωρητήρια (I do not know what my husband saw in you to make you my slave, but understand you could have been working in the minds or colosseum. Be grateful. Have him clean the latrines.)" Lucia ordered with a gesture of her hand.

Christoforos struggled in vain as he was carried away to begin his new life. Toothless couldn't have said the same.

Five hundred and thirty miles to the west of Christoforos was where Toothless was located. The Night Fury had already woken up in his dark, cramped cell and could do nothing but struggle against his tight bonds. Even with his superior night vision, he couldn't see much. The only noise was a very faint rumble

Toothless threw himself left and right but stopped after realizing how much energy he was wasting. He sighed against his muzzle and looked around as far as his restraints would let him. All he knew was that his cell was made of a type of strong rock. He figured he could blast his way out but his muzzle prevented that.

A sudden roar caught his attention. His ears twitching as he absorbed the sound. This roar didn't sound like a dragon. It sounds louder, yet lighter. He figured it was some other beast. Then he heard the sounds of struggling humans followed by metal shifting and groaning. Then he heard a syncopated clanking noise and a gradual roar of shouts and clamor. Toothless then realize that the loud din of shouts and yells was actually the quiet rumble from before. Toothless tried his best to interpret what was going on but couldn't place it. Wherever he was, he knew he was somewhere terrible.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys! Wow...damn, how long has it been? Too long...it's been over a year since my last update and let me just say that this past year was a wild one. If you are wondering why it took so long to upload, well, I went through a period of doubt. I started re-evaluating what I was doing with my life, and I did not like the direction it was going. I lost faith with myself, gave up, focused too hard on trying to control my life, transitioned to college, work hard at a job, personal/family drama; crap hit the fan...that led to no time and/or no inspiration to write...anyways, everything is going much better now and like I promised long ago, I would never abandon my stories! I am getting back into writing and I plan to finish my stories and this quadrilogy (as this is the 3rd story in the planned quadrilogy!) Anyways, have fun reading! If you would like to review, that would be greatly appreciated!**

Toothless growled in annoyance, the shouts and jeers were getting louder. He looked around and met the same grey walls of his cell. A deep clunking sound hit his sonar flaps, causing them to twitch towards its source. He whipped his head around and saw a group of soldiers wearing red and brown clothing opening his cell and approaching him slowly, their spears raised. Toothless growled and tried to snarl, yet his muzzle prevented him from doing that. His restraints prevented him from moving, causing him to growl louder and louder as the soldiers drew near.

He glared at one to his left as he tried to reach for him. A cold, rough hand grabbed his neck from the right of him. Toothless tensed and bucked hard to the right, causing a soldier to yelp and grunt in pain as he smashed into the wall. The other soldiers yelled in unison and rushed the Night Fury. Toothless growled deeply, thrashing all around and sending a few more soldiers cascading away.

He bucked some more before a sudden force slammed downward upon his skull. He grunted in pain as he hit the ground. His vision swam. He growled softly before another slam to his head knocked him out cold.

Gallus smirked down at the Night Fury, holding his mace above the downed dragon. His soldiers gazed at him, wondering what their leader would say.

Gallus looked back at his awaiting troops and scowled. "Well what are you waiting for! Chain him up and prep him to the arena. It's time for him to face a dragon of his...stature."

Gallus commanded as his eyes fell upon the Night Fury again. He squat down and traced his fingers upon the Night Fury's snout.

"I could have sold you but what would have been the point in that? You would have tried to escape. Let's have some fun first. I wonder how well you can fight without flying you beast." Gallus seethed as he got up, watching his troops haul him slowly away to his fate.

The dragonets were minding their business, trying to play a game of hunter and prey (hide and seek). Black Widow was the hunter and had managed to catch Avalon and Edelweiss. The sun was setting and the young ones knew they had to wrap up their fun time quickly. Now all that was left was…

"Come out Apollo! I know you are here!" The young hybrid shouted as she gazed all around carefully, trying to find any indication of the last remaining prey.

Black Widow stopped suddenly and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the forest. She heard a faint 'crunch' of leaves a bit to her left. She smirked and quickly dashed in that direction. Running through a bush, she quickly pounced onto her prey only to crash headfirst into a sturdy black mass. Black Widow groaned as she shook her head and gazed up at what she ran into. She pulled back, shocked at what she saw.

It was Rhyax, who looked down at her from his side. He slowly turned around and faced her directly, staring down with piercing blue eyes.

"_Hello,"_ he simply stated, smirking in an eery way.

Black Widow backed away slightly, a bit creeped out by the large Night Fury looming over her. "_Urm...hello…"_

Whenever she took a step back, he would take one forward.

"_What's the matter little one? You aren't scared of me are you?" _

Black Widow scoffed before puffing out her chest with pride. "_Of course I'm not! I'm a Night Fury!"_

Rhyax snickered before leaning his head down and matching her eye level. He gave off a soft growl.

"_Well you should be."_ Rhyax seethed before quickly pinning down the hatchling, preventing her from scrambling away. Black Widow yelled and tried to call for help but another paw clamped her muzzle shut. All she could do now was panic and thrash around foolishly.

She continued doing so for a couple more minutes before a solid force crashed into her head, causing her to see stars before her eyes fluttered shut and she lost consciousness.

The Berkians and Draconians flew quickly yet silently, following the female Night Fury as she led them across the forest.

"_If this is some kind of sick joke-" _Re hissed.

"_Believe me, I wish it was." _Raeya sighed.

"_Why? Why is your family doing this? Why are you doing this?" _Aurora asked, a bit of anger and worry mixed in her tone.

"_Because my family hates your parents for what they did to us. We couldn't live in any den or nest because most dragons have never even heard of a dragon with two different eyes. So whenever we would show up, they would kick us out because they understand me. They didn't understand that I had no control over how my eyes looked. We kept looking and looking for a place to settle down, traveling everywhere. My parents figured Draconia would be the place where our home would be. Sadly, when we arrived your father, King Jack, rejected us as well, believing me to be cursed with human witchcraft." _Raeya explained. Aurora provided the role of translator as the humans couldn't understand the Night Fury.

"_My father? He...he would...never!" _Re exclaimed.

"_You can be surprised how much dragons can change over the years. He said he didn't want human witchcraft to penetrate the heart of Draconia or something like that; I don't remember. All I do know, is that on that day, my mother and father loss respect for the crown and father vowed to make him pay" _Raeya said.

Aurora flew close to her mate. "_Re I hate to say it, but we both know how rash your father got when he was alive."_

Re hung his head slightly in embarrassment, knowing Aurora had a point.

"_So why are they taking our children?" _Re asked.

"_Something about, an eye for an eye. My father said that it wasn't fair how they had to handle mistreatment just because of how I looked. And that when King Jack turned us away, the whole kingdom did too...and that if their lives were gonna be a living hell because of their children–me–then they were gonna make his life hell because of his children. Since he isn't alive, he decided to enact his plan on your children…" _Raeya spewed, feeling ashamed at uttering every word.

Raeya chanced a look back and was met with the disgusted, shocked, angry faces of both dragon and human alike. Raeya looked down in guilt before angling downwards towards a clearing.

"_I know you guys are angry, and probably hate me-"_ Raeya began.

"_Anger doesn't cover it." _Re seethed.

"_Why are you telling us this?" _Skullcrusher asked.

"_Because it's not fair that innocent people have to suffer because of my family's drama. It's not right to make dragonets suffer because of how I look or because of what your father did years ago. Two negatives do not make a positive. You can hate me all you want; it's your right. However, hate me after we rescue your children. If we don't make it in time, no one will hate me more than myself." _Raeya spoke timidly, guiding the group through the forest.

"_Wait, something doesn't add up. If this was your family's ultimate objective:revenge, then us meeting you for the first time couldn't have been a coincidence."_ Aurora deduced.

"_You're right... it wasn't. Do you remember why you came to Berk in the first place?" _Raeya responded.

The air was silent for a few moments before Meatlug gasped. "_The crown! That's why the Draconians showed up! They were looking for Windwalker's missing crown!"_

Re growled in anger. "_You were going to get revenge on us based on a crown?!"_

"_Wait that makes no sense! How could your family's ultimate goal be to kill our children if you guys didn't even know we had children to begin with! You couldn't have possibly knew that until after we met you all. What does a measly crown have to do with any of this?"_ Tenor thought out.

"_That wasn't the original plan, I just...look, the crown thing is gonna sound really stupid and confusing, but before I cover that, we are already here. I will explain everything after we rescue the children"_ Raeya decided.

Edelweiss was scared. She ran across the dark forest, trying to escape with her life. She and Avalon were patiently waiting for Black Widow to return with Apollo before they were attacked by Slyerion, Raeya's father. Avalon told her to run as fast as she could back to their parents while she would deal with the Night Fury. It broke Edelweiss' heart to leave her friend alone but she had to get help, or else he friends might be hurt!

She was panting heavily, running as fast her tiny 2 legs could carry her. She zig-zagged between trees, and over logs. She chanced a look behind her to see if she was being pursued; however, that led her to trip over an exposed tree root. Edelweiss cried as she stumbled, wincing a bit in pain as he knee became bloodied. She sniffled and let out a few tears, holding her knee, realizing it hurt to move it.

A nearby thud silenced her quickly. She gulped and covered her mouth with her hand, afraid of being discovered. She crawled back and leaned against a tree, hoping that a Night Fury wasn't following her.

Three minutes passed and all was quiet. She removed her hand from her mouth and let out a huge sigh, taking deep breathes. Suddenly, a large shadow moved towards her and easily pinned her down. Edelweiss let out a huge scream as a weight was pressed onto her small body. She could hardly move and her eyes widened with fear at the sight of a Night Fury above her. This one had icy blue eyes, revealing herself to be none other than Moonfyre, Raeya's mother.

"J-Just leave me alone! I won't tell anybody please! I just wanna go to my mama!" Edelweiss cried out, tears streaming down her face.

"_Sorry little one, but I'm afraid we need you." _Moonfyre responded.

"Why?! What did I do to you?" Edelweiss' voice got smaller, staring back up into those large eyes.

"_I am not going to explain myself to a child!" _Moonfyre exclaimed.

Edelweiss closed her eyes and shivered, expecting the worse. She just wished she could see her mama and papa again, like she used to. Suddenly she heard a Night Fury whistle before the sound of a plasma blast screeched by her. A roar followed suit and she was freed. She gazed up to see Skullcrusher, Hookfang and Re, wrestling with Moonfyre, scratching and biting.

"_Edel!" _A familiar voice rang out.

She turned around and was overjoyed to see her grandmother, Aurora, approaching her with a relieved look on her face. She squealed and cried against her grandmother's leg, burying her wet face into it as she hugged it tightly.

"_Are you alright? Did she hurt you?"_ Aurora asked gently as she nuzzled her grandchild.

"I-I am okay…" Edelweiss said softly.

After a few moments, the three male dragons managed to pin down Moonfyre's head, tail, and body. She glowered up at her captors with rage, snarling. The rest of the group surrounded them,

"_You aren't capturing this child!" _Re seethed.

"_...How did you know?! No one knows of this except-" _Moonfyre choked on her words when her own daughter emerged from the brush, putting the pieces together. Her shocked expression turning into anger.

"_Raeya?! How could you?! Betraying your family like this!"_ Moonfyre barked out.

"_Mother this isn't right and you know that!" _Raeya responded.

"_What is right is punishing them for hurting us for all those years ago! What leader turns away his own kind? Tell me!" _

"_Okay! I get it, he was a bad king. But Re isn't. He has been nothing but helpful towards us. The whole royal family has been and yet you are still blinded with hatred. Mother, stop this madness!" _Raeya pleaded with a fierce determination.

Moonfyre look down, contemplating with a scowl on her face.

"_You should listen to your daughter. You are lucky I don't tear you apart right now for capturing my children" _Re glowered, getting dangerously close to her face. "_Now tell us where they are!"_

"_Don't worry. They are in a safe place. Why would we hurt our pieces of trade?" _Moonfyre chuckled after giving Re a smug look.

Re snarled furiously, wrapping his tail around her neck tightly and lifting her off the ground, before slamming her into a nearby tree. His grip around her throat wasn't getting any less constricting. Moonfyre struggled for breath, choking.

"_Wait! Stop! She may be evil, but she is still my mother!" _Raeya interjected.

Re held his hateful gaze at Moonfyre for a brief moment before slowly releasing the pressure on her neck before pinning her firmly to it by the neck.

"_Now tell us where they are!" _Re demanded.

Moonfyre chuckled, "_It doesn't matter. Just seeing... the reaction I'm...getting from you...that burning feeling...that pain.. is all wor-"_

"_They are near a cave, not that far from the cove, maybe 3 miles eastward along the coast."_ Aurora cut her off as Raeya whispered in her ear.

The older Night Fury gaped at the queen in shock "_that's impossible...how did you-"_ she quickly grimaced and stared daggers at her daughter "_you...traitor! After everything we did...we did for you! And this is how you repay us, your family?" _

"_You don't have a right to get mad at your daughter when she is trying to save lives. I understand anger, and how you and your family felt betrayed by my mate's father. However, how low do you have to get to attack children?! It's one thing to attack us but to use children as a method of revenge, how disgusting are you! You are worse than scum!_

Moonfyre was dumbfounded. She remained quiet for a moment.

"_Well now that we don't need you anymore."_ Re commented before bringing a paw down and firmly smacking her head, causing her to cry out before falling to the ground, unconscious; Raeya grimaced at the sight of her unconscious mother.

They turned to leave before Ruffnut interrupted.

"Uhhh Re, why are we gonna leave her here? What if she wakes up while we are away? We would come back and we wouldn't know what happened?"

"She poses a good question." Hiccup chided.

"_Don't worry. With a hard blow to the head like that, she won't be up for a couple of hours. We will find the rest of them quickly. If by some chance I'm wrong, I will gladly hunt her down, for one should never piss off a dragon, especially one protecting its young."_ Re responded as he took off, not waiting for the rest of the group.

Re soon led the way as he directed the group, following his mate's directions, toward the east side of Berk, where a few sea stacks dotted the ocean close-by. Aurora was not with them as she flew back to drop off Edelweiss to her mother, and to recruit Tenor. Soon the group landed on the outskirts of a shore, a few yards away from a large cave. They moved cautiously again; it was quiet–too quiet.

Two plasma blasts exploded near them, spraying sand everywhere. The group halted and gazed up at their attackers, revealing themselves to be Sylerion and Rhyax

"_Now isn't this just perfect. Re, the dragon king. Just the dragon I was planning on talking to."_ Sylerion said with venom as he hovered above them.

"_Sylerion! How dare you capture my children!" _Re roared with fury.

Rhyax narrowed his eyes, glowering at his sister.

"_You told them didn't you?" _he snarled.

"_It doesn't matter now, son. We have enough of his children to use them against him. In fact, he won't do anything." _Sylerion smirked.

"_Father! Stop this madness! Release those hatchlings! They are innocent!" _Raeya pleaded, stepping forward.

"_We were innocent too. We were just a simple family looking for a place to live, yet we were always denied a home simply because other dragons couldn't accept you. We went to the King and even he couldn't accept us. The king of dragons who loves all his subjects and makes them feel welcome in the homeland, didn't ACCEPT US!" _Sylerion explained.

"_I can understand other dragons turning away other dragons, but for the king himself to do that to his own subjects...that is unforgivable, and for that he must pay." _Sylerion continued.

"_I am not my father!"_ Re growled "_and for you to take out your revenge on innocent hatchlings, is beyond sickening."_

"_Father give up! You are surrounded." _Raeya exclaimed.

Sylerion glowered. He sighed and hung his head, before giving a faint smirk. In a flash, he whipped around and fired a plasma blast at the cave where the hatchlings were kept. The cave opening rumbled before collapsing, caving in the only entrance.


	23. Chapter 23

Everything seemed lost in a haze at that moment. A white noise filled their air as the King roared out and lunged at Sylerion with all his might. The older Night Fury barely managing to dodge the attack. Meanwhile the rest of fighters, except for Raeya, took flight and battled Rhyax.

Both older dragons slashed and bit at each other. Currently, Re was on top trying to slash down at Sylerion; however, the Night Fury kicked out under him, sending the king flying sideways before spitting out two powerful plasma blasts at him. Sand flew everywhere as the blasts seemingly hit their mark.

Sylerion smirked, relishing in the fact he struck the almighty king. His glee only lasted a brief moment as Re slowly emerged from the settling dust, albeit with yellow markings along his face, wing membranes, and plated, winged underbelly.

"_No one...messes...with my family."_ Re glowered. His eyes glinted with a fierce animosity as he stood menacingly with his Titan Wing activated.

The Dragon King then rushed the Night Fury, dodging a couple of ensuing plasma blasts before knocking into Sylerion's side. Before Sylerion could recover, he was instantly doused in a jet of flames by Re.

The King's fire was twice as hot due to his Titan Wing form and covered a wider range, engulfing Sylerion's entire body. The Night Fury tried to get fight it but the flames pushed him down. When the flames stopped, Re instantly swatted across his face, leaving four nasty gashes across Sylerion's face. The Night Fury tried to get up but Re pinned him down again and released another jet of flames directly onto Sylerion's face. The Night Fury could do nothing but face the intense inferno head on.

Re kept up his flamethrower for a minute or so before finally stopping. He glanced down and realized he burnt Sylerion so intensely, the gashes on his face instantly cauterized. The intense scorching on his face made it difficult to discern where Sylerion's eyes and mouth where.

Re huffed and puffed as he stepped off his opponent, deactivating his Titan Wing. No sooner than that, he heard shuffling and a few plasma blasts ahead of him. He glanced up and notice Raeya desperately trying to dig out the buried hatchlings. He too sprinted over and began blasting away some of the rubble.

"_There is too much rubble! We both can't do this alone!"_ Raeya panicked.

Just as Re was about to say something, he heard a roar. He turned around and saw Aurora and Tenor flying towards them. Tenor climbed a bit high before diving downward into a power dive, charging a plasma blast, while simultaneously activating his Titan Wing to add more power. Raeya and Re stepped back and with a deafening boom, the plasma blast sent the rubble flying in a spray. As the dust cleared, Re rushed in.

"_Kids...kids! Avalon! Apollo! Black Widow!"_ Re desperately called out.

Everything was silent for a moment, but as the faint moonlight slowly crept in he was able to make out some distinct shapes.

His eyes widened when he saw the group lying huddled together and covered with dust. He nudged his daughter and son slowly, praying that they would rouse. The moonlight making them appear sickly pale.

After a few silent seconds, they did not stir.

"_Come on...Apollo...Avalon…"_ Re pleaded softly on the verge of tears.

Another couple of seconds and all seemed lost...until Apollo started a fit of coughing before groaning. Avalon too gave a slight cough before whining in discomfort.

"_Oh thank heavens!"_ Re sighed, releasing a tense breath before nuzzling and licking his hatchlings. He then nudged and prodded Black Widow who proceeded to groan and cough as well.

He grabbed them the best he could and hoisted then on his back, carefully. He then turned around and was greeted by the sight of both his Draconian family and the Berkians.

His family immediately rushed around him and crooned in relief; Aurora licked and checked her children for any injuries while Tenor did the same for his daughter.

"_Are you okay?" _Tenor asked concerned. His concern for his daughter's well-being temporarily masked his recent heartbreak.

"_Y-yeah...just scared...I really thought I was going to d-die. We couldn't do anything and when the cave collapse in...I-I..."_ Black Widow admitted shakily, still shivering in fear.

"_Shhh...it's okay my child. As long as I'm here, I will do everything and anything to protect you. No matter what, I will always be here." _Tenor gently said to his daughter, nuzzling her.

"_I know father...it's just...I wish m-mother was here too._" Black Widow said before she starting crying softly. "_Where is she? I saw her fly away and you crying. What happened? Does she hate me?Did I cause her to leave?" _

His daughter's mention about his ex-mate stung him a bit but he reassured her the best he could. "_Black Widow, your mother could never hate you. She loves you with all her heart. You did not make her leave...I did." _Tenor struggled to say.

Black Widow looked up, "_What do you m-mean?"_ She said through tears eyes.

Tenor looked in his daughter's eyes and could instantly see the pain the recent separation was causing her. Watching her mother leave without no knowledge of if she would ever return, not even knowing why she left in the first place. Tenor closed his eyes and mused over what happened a couple hours ago. He saw himself when he stared into his daughter's eyes. He didn't want her to live a life of sadness and confusion like he did. He didn't want her to grow up without both parents like he did. He wasn't going to allow his daughter to go through similar circumstances like he did growing up.

He gazed back into his child's eyes. "_It's a long story. A story I will explain when you are older. All you need to know is that I'm getting your mother back. I promise."_ Tenor said before nuzzling his child tenderly.

Black Widow was confused but trusted in her father. Nodding and crooning as her father licked her in comfort.

Re regarded the Berkians as he finished making sure his hatchlings were alright. "_Where is that other Night Fury?"_

The riders of Berk gazed between themselves, sheepish and awkward, before Hiccup stepped forward.

"Uh...well Re...we tried catching him, but he's a Night Fury...and you know how agile and swift Night Furies are..." Hiccup slowly admitted.

"He escaped." Eret said.

"_What?!"_

"_It's true, sir. We had him cornered actually. We told him how we captured his mother and that his father wouldn't stand a chance against you." _Stormfly squawked.

"_Then he glanced down at you defeating his father, then he left. I guess once he realized he was outnumbered the only thing he could do was escape, which he could do since Night Furies are extremely fast." _Skullcrusher added.

"_He's gonna be back."_ Re sighed angrily.

"He will...but we will be ready." Eret said determined.

"_Speaking of Night Furies…"_ Aurora added as she gazed heatedly at Raeya who was standing quietly and timidly a few yards away from the group.

Raeya tensed a bit as all eyes shifted to her, she found the black stares of the humans and the fierce looks of the dragons a bit unsettling.

"_Look...I understand-"_ Raeya began, slowly being surrounded.

"_What exactly do you understand? As far as I know, you have been the center of almost all the problems that happened in these past weeks." _ Hookfang glowered.

"_If you would let me ex-"_

"_What do we need to know that we don't? You have caused strife to everyone on this island." _Barf stated.

"_Even though your reason behind exposing your family for who they were and what their ulterior motive was, that doesn't excuse the fact you knew about this for quite some time and went along with it." _Belch added.

"_That proves we can't trust you." _Meatlug retorted sternly.

"_I-I know but please-"_

"_It's probably because of you that Toothless is gone! He tries his best to look good for you, impress you, and make you see the beauty in our village_, _and what did you do, you just coldly reject him!" _Stormfly cried out.

"_He wanted you to stay, you know that? He liked you! He wanted you to call this place home! Give you and your family what you guys always wanted. It's obvious that isn't the case."_ Hookfang growled.

"_ENOUGH!_" Re roared, silencing the onslaught of the dragons of Berk, even though their words already left an impact on Raeya.

"_Raeya, you said you were gonna explain everything. This still doesn't make sense. The whole crown thing, your family's true plan._" Aurora added.

Raeya was visibly upset. The dragons of Berk reminded her how horribly she treated Toothless and their words made her realize Toothless wanted what was best for her, and she realized that Toothless was what was best for her. She exhaled a shaky breath, trying to quell her storm of emotions. She couldn't hold anything in anymore. There was no point in delaying the truth; She had no reason to do such.

"_My family wanted to rob you guys originally. They figured King Jack had riches because what king doesn't? We were gonna rob you all of your most valued possessions. We planned to rob you guys and that's it! I was the only one in my family who realized that was wrong and that responding to negativity with negativity solves nothing. It wouldn't be fair to just rob you guys! So I planned against them, I took Windwalker's crown. I took it and planted it in the cove because I was planning on getting you guys to catch my family with the crown, that way they would get captured and never even have a chance to rob you guys in the first place! Then we met you guys and we realized that King Jack passed away and Re took his place. _

"_I didn't know we were gonna go after the children! That just took a turn for the worst! My father realized Re valued his family more than any material item so that's why he went after the children in response to Re's father shunning us because of me–his child. I knew I had to stop it, but I didn't know how! I didn't know how to approach you guys about it without it sounding bad, but it sounds bad regardless. Then you guys showed me what it was like to have a family, a real family where you guys didn't just focus on revenge and blaming others for one's misfortunes, and Toothless showed me what it was like to have a home...I just...just caught up in what it was like to be...to be a part of a community."_

Everything was dead silent.

"_I caused all of this. You are right. All my life I have been told what to do and to carry vengeance in my heart for what you father did to my family, when in reality it is my parent's fault for holding onto that hatred for so long. I did what they said because I believed it to be right. If I had just approached you all sooner...I messed everything up...and I can't forgive myself for allowing all of this to happen...You all have a right to be mad at me. I'm just a stranger who just came into your life and basically caused all this drama. Just be mad at me knowing why I did what I did, instead of being mad at me for the wrong reason. Now you have a right reason to be mad at me...and I'm sorry! Sorry doesn't cover it but I'm sorry!"_ Raeya closed her eyes and crooned sadly, hanging her head in shame. There was nothing left for her to say.

Re came forward, looking down at her. Raeya looked up, visibly upset; not scared, but accepting her fate.

"_Raeya...what your family has done is inexcusable. It's one thing to go after me, but to go after my family...my instincts tell me to kill you all. However, I can see in your eyes true regret. I would have reigned down on you and your family severe agony for endangering my family if it wasn't for your confession. Although, it's rare for a dragon to admit he is wrong, I could hear the truth in your voice as you confessed. You seemed visibly and honestly upset. You realized the error of your ways, and for that, only you will receive a small punishment, mercy really. Your family however will endure justice."_

Everyone was confused by Re's declaration, especially Raeya. The Night Fury glanced to her defeated father, to the sky for her long gone brother, and back to Re. She gathered herself.

"_So, what does this mean?" _

"_It means your family will be imprisoned. However as punishment, you will help Hiccup and I recover Toothless and my son...and you will have a rider from this day forth until you ascend to the heavens."_

That statement gathered murmurs amongst the crowd.

"Uhh, we all have dragons, none of us are gonna ride her." Ruffnut commented.

"Oh me me! I wanna ride her! We are gonna have to call you something worthy of a Viking rider! Hmmm how about...Deathbringer!" Tuffnut exclaimed excitedly.

"_I wasn't referring to any of you all." _Re responded.

"Then who is gonna ride her then?" Snotlout grunted.

Re gave the slightest hint of a smirk at Raeya, causing the Night Fury to widen her eyes in shock.

"_Does he mean…"_ Raeya thought to herself.

Kassandra sulked in her prison. She was so confused, and felt a tinge of betrayal. She just discovered a crown and then suddenly she was thrown in jail.

The flapping of wings got her attention. She rushed to the bars of her cell and pressed against it, trying to peek out at what was happening. Hiccup then emerged.

"Hiccup? Look please, I didn't do anything! I just saw a crown and then those dragons turned on me! I'm innocent, I didn't know what the crown was! I didn't know it belonged to them…" Kassandra began to ramble.

"Yeah, uh, there was a bit a of a mix up, and we realized that you didn't steal it, as a matter of fact, Raeya stole it...in any case, you are free to go." Hiccup said sheepishly as he released her from the cage.

Kassandra stopped mid sentence as Hiccup explained what happened and was shocked as he swung open the cell door.

"Wait...What?! So it wasn't my fault? Wait, dragons can steal? How can they steal? They are just...dragons!" Kassandra questioned as she hesitantly stepped out of her cage and into the open. She immediately became quiet as the large group stared back at her.

"W-what's...what's going on?" Kassandra stammered nervously, trying to back up. She thought this was trick and that the group was there to deliver a somewhat worse punishment besides imprisonment.

Re came forth "_Kassandra, you being put in jail was a mistake. This was due to a large misunderstanding ultimately caused by Raeya. We can explain everything along the way."_

Kassandra regarded the king and was confused by his words.

"What..What do you mean, 'along the way'?" Kassandra asked.

"_You are going to accompany myself and Hiccup, and will guide us to Rome." _

Kassandra took a step back. "Why...why are we going back to there...I escaped there for a reason...are you guys taking me back...look I'm sorry I-"

"Kassandra, my dragon, Toothless, has been captured and we know that Alastair has taken him and consequently took Chris as well back to your city. We are going to rescue them and you are the only one who knows Athens well enough to guide us there and help us track them down, besides you are the only one who speaks Greek...and I hate to say it but you kinda owe it to Re and his family since you were the one who caused Chris to forget his memories." Hiccup explained.

"Um, Okay...I guess we aren't taking a boat back then." Kassandra stated with a defeated look on her face, knowing where this was going to lead.

"_Why would you need to when you got dragons, duh!" _Fishlegs interjected.

Kassandra hung her head in defeat. Her recent interactions with dragons didn't go so well.

"I...I don't know how to ride one! I don't know the basics and I don't even know what to do! I don't think a dragon even wants me on their back! Why can't I ride on Re behind you Hiccup?" Kassandra cried out.

"_You will at first, but having extra weight on my back will slow me down, so you will be riding another dragon after awhile." _Re chuckled lightly.

"There is one dragon that kind of trusts you, and you guys have been close to each other and gotten to know each other fine." Hiccup smiled as he commented, patting the neck of Raeya, who at the time looked nervous and wasn't making eye contact with her at all.

Kassandra looked down, unsure what to make of this sudden turn of events.

"When do we leave?" Kassandra gulped, nervous to be on the back of a dragon, let alone be thousands of miles up in the air.

"We leave immediately" Hiccup said.

"_I'm afraid that's not possible." _Aurora interjected, "_There is a store coming a few miles from here. It will make flying impossible."_

Everyone turned to where she was pointing and the brewing dark clouds hovering above the horizon a couple of miles away confirmed her words.

Re growled in frustration "_Just great! Now that just puts more distance between us and those damn Romans!" _

"Well there is no other choice: we will have to wait until tomorrow when the storm passes." Hiccup decided.

Back in Rome, Toothless stirred. His head throbbed sorely. He wondered why it hurt before he remembered he was hit over the head hard by that man, Gallus. Toothless fluttered his eyes open and took in the new surroundings. H_e _was being dragged on a rolling platform through some type of tunnel made from small blocks of stone, with torches lined every so often along the walls. An entourage of ten or so soldiers escorted him, glad in their red and brass armor.

He growled and began thrashing again but to no avail. His limbs and muzzle were clamped shut to the platform with iron shackles; Toothless could barely look up because of it. The soldiers noticed his struggle and shouted back and forth to each other in their strange language before rolling Toothless faster down the tunnel. Toothless would have kept on growling but a soft rumbling began to echo throughout the tunnel.

The rumbling grew louder and Toothless realized it was the shouts and roars of a crowd of humans, a large one at that. Toothless gazed forward and saw light at the end of the tunnel. A thick, iron portcullis blocked the end, allowing some natural sunlight to filter through.

The entourage quickly held down the Night Fury, prompting him to growl louder. A sinister chuckle then echoed through the tunnel. Toothless' eyes darted towards the right, the voice all too familiar.

"Well well...looks like you aren't so mighty after all. No need to fear, I'm not gonna kill you." Gallus said as he walked slowly into Toothless' line of vision. The Night Fury's eyes slitted angrily, his growl became a muffle snarl.

Gallus picked up some sort of metal contraption with spikes jutting out at different angles. The big brute threw it over Toothless before reaching under him and securing the metal band with a thick click of the metal harness. Toothless felt a pricking, sharp pressure along his wings and adjacent joints whenever he tried to expand his wings. He couldn't move them at all and were effectively pinned back behind his body.

"This'll prevent you from trying to fly away. If you try, the spikes will pierce into your wings and wing joints the more you expand those appendages." Gallus darkly chuckled.

He went around and looked Toothless dead in the eye before slapping Toothless' cheek in a mockingly playful manner. "I can see it in your eyes how much you want to kill me. I see it all the time in the dragons I've captured. However, killing me should be the least of your concerns now. You got bigger things to kill than me."

Gallus barked something to his men and the entourage formed a wall with their shields and their spears jutted out from the spaces between the shield, forming a spiked wall of sorts.

The blonde then moved around behind Toothless and withdrew his sword before heaving it down and slicing the metal ring which secured all the chains–minus the contraption–to the wooden platform.

Toothless immediately shook off his chains, spun around and threw a plasma blast at Gallus. However, Gallus was already behind the closing group of soldiers and his plasma blast bounced off the heavy, metallic shield of one of them. They cried some type of unison shout before slowly advancing on the dragon. Toothless growled and tried snapping his jaws at one of the spears but the other spears would try to stab him in return. He had no choice but to fall back.

Toothless heard clinking metal and realized the gate of the portcullis was opening and he was being forced into the open. After a tense minute, Toothless emerged into blinding sunlight and to the roar of the crowd.


End file.
